Angelic Intervention
by MiatheRabbit
Summary: [FF7&FF9]The one winged angel must find redemption by helping to save the world of another. The other being a genome once destined to become an angel himself, an angel of death. Minor FF8 crossovers in later chapters R
1. Resurrection

**Part One: Resurrection **

She couldn't save him. It all happened before her very eyes, but she couldn't save him. What is the use of her power, she thought if she couldn't protect those she cared about…? The others said they didn't blame her…but she could tell what they really thought. She had more powers then they dared to imagine.

"Oh why won't the world stop…?" she cried out into the darkness that was her sorrow. "If only to make my pain go away…"

* * *

Green everywhere. Green light and the constant sound of water. And voices, voices from the void crying out in anguish as if to punish him for his deeds by disturbing his eternal rest. However they were not needed, his own mind and its desire to be free prevented his rest. Twice he had tried…and failed…to destroy the Planet he had once inhabited. Twice defeated by the same person. To this day he did not know how it was possible

How long has it been since he returned to his slumber? How long since the time before...? Before he knew the truth…

* * *

The boy continued climbing the hill. He knew Alexandria would soon be in sight and he'd be able to see Dagger again. But something was troubling him. He wondered why Dagger had asked him to return to Alexandria. Though even without the letter he still had a feeling that something wasn't right.

He had been helping the Black Mages with the Genomes. Though they had been on Gaia over a year they were still uneasy about the world. No. 288 has suggested Zidane help with this after Vivi died. Vivi did have several sons to take over from him but they weren't as adept in the ways of the world as their father.

Zidane had been there about a month when he received a letter from Dagger asking him to return to Alexandria. It gave no reason as to why but it did however sound urgent.

Zidane cursed the cold wind as it nearly blew him from the hill. For some reason airships weren't running to Alexandria so he had taken an airship from Lindblum to Dali and was forced to walk the rest of the way. He hoped it wasn't linked to Dagger's letter. Finally he reached the top of the hill and looked down at the kingdom of Alexandria.

* * *

He desired to be a God and almost achieved it but they had stopped him; Cloud and his group and the ancient known as Aerith. He was now just a soul in the lifestream, giving life to that which he wished to destroy. Through the very fact he could still think and to a degree feel he knew he couldn't truly die. He discovered this a while back. Though he wasn't sure how long ago it was…He had once been resurrected in the body of a remnant called Kadaj. However he was still defeated, again by the only thing said to be able to kill him, the Omnislash. It was said to embody the emotions, power and spirit of the user but how could Cloud's soul create such power he thought.

"Because he cares," said a voice

"What?" he spoke out into the void.

"Cloud cares about people, things. He has friends. This gives him strength."

He looked around but no-one was there. The voice was female he could tell and he was sure he recognised it but he couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"You have encountered me before Sephiroth" said the voice.

He then realised who it was.

"Aerith," Sephiroth whispered bitterly.

"Yes. You have done a lot of terrible things Sephiroth. The Planet is finding it hard to forgive you." said Aerith grimly.

"I do not need or wish for forgiveness!" exclaimed Sephiroth.

"Even so, the Planet requests your aid," Aerith replied.

Sephiroth was surprised by this statement. He had tried to destroy it and now it wanted his help?

"Why doesn't the 'Great Cloud' do it? I'm sure he'll be more than willing to play the hero" Sephiroth spat.

"We are grumpy aren't we?" Aerith giggled. This infuriated Sephiroth.

"I am stuck here in a void of souls with no escape. It is no surprise that I am 'grumpy' as you put it!" he shouted angrily.

"Hmph! Fine! The Planet can't ask Cloud because his powers aren't strong enough for the foe it wishes you to face," Aerith said annoyed.

"What is this foe?" Sephiroth inquired.

"They are trying to erase JENOVA's existence. Make it so it never existed and never hit the Planet," Aerith replied.

"Wouldn't you see that as a good thing?" Sephiroth asked sarcastically.

"You would think so, but JENOVA is key to the Planet's existence. When it was heading towards the Planet on a meteor it actually slowed it down before it hit the surface. If it hadn't, the Planet would have been destroyed," Aerith explained.

"So if they erase JENOVA they erase the Planet and anyone born on it since then," Sephiroth realised.

"You're smarter than you look," Sephiroth decided not to dignify the remark with a response. "I guess you would perhaps know their motives better than most having tried to do it yourself," Aerith added, "We don't know much about them except that they're from another dimension from this one."

"Alternate Dimensions actually exist?" Sephiroth said surprised.

"Yes. There are millions of other dimensions. When in the Lifestream the Cetra can see into some of them, The Planet can see into all of them. It wants to send you to one known as Gaiaterra. This is where the one you need to defeat currently is. However they are not from Gaiaterra. They from another, but we don't know which one."

"What if I refuse?" Sephiroth remarked.

"Do you want to have never existed?" Aerith said surprised.

He thought about it for a minute. Would it be better if he didn't exist? He would be freed from the Lifestream but would never be able to think or feel. He decided he would have rather existed even in here with a small but possible chance of escape than not at all.

"No…" he said finally.

"That's what I thought," Aerith said, relieved. "The one you need to defeat is trying to destroy the one in Gaiaterra who is linked to JENOVA."

"Linked to JENOVA?" Sephiroth said puzzled.

"Everybody in every dimension is linked to one or more people in other dimensions. If the link is awakened then it is possible to affect someone in one dimension by killing their counterpart in another. That is how the nameless one is planning on erasing JENOVA."

"Who is the nameless one?" Sephiroth asked puzzled.

"The evil you must defeat. It doesn't know who they are so the Planet calls them 'The Nameless One'" Aerith replied.

"You say Cloud isn't powerful enough to defeat the Nameless One yet he has defeated me twice. Why is the Planet sending me?" asked Sephiroth.

"His powers differ from yours. His powers allow him to banish anything that threatens the Planet such as yourself. Yours are born from darkness and that is needed for this particular foe. To defeat the Nameless One it requires two people one with powers born from darkness and one with powers born from light."

"So the one with 'powers born from light' will be joining me?" Sephiroth said annoyed.

"I know you are thinking you can handle it alone, but believe me; it will take both of you. We don't know the origin of the Nameless One's powers but they use both Holy and Dark magic. You will struggle against Holy magic as your partner will struggle against Dark." explained Aerith.

Sephiroth sighed, "So who is my partner?"

"They were once known as the Angel of Death," Aerith replied.

"Angel of Death?" Sephiroth asked surprised "but their powers are born from light?"

"They were supposed to create mass wars in their dimension to cause deaths and increase the cycle of souls, which is like the Lifestream. However they shunned this particular destiny. I would advise against referring to them as the Angel of Death however. They are called Zidane." Aerith explained, "You also need find the one linked to JENOVA and prevent the link between them being awakened. And of course you need to defeat the one causing all the trouble before they erase JENOVA or head to another dimension. If they head to another dimension then they will just destroy that one and we may not be able to see it. But it will return to destroy this dimension eventually."

Sephiroth wondered what he had got himself into. He wasn't worried about the power of the Nameless One he had to defeat but of performing the other tasks assigned to him and defeating them as well, with seemingly very little time, seemed like it could be difficult. Eventually he replied "Fine".

"Okay, whilst you are there you can't hurt anyone without good reason. If you hurt anyone who isn't your enemy you will feel the pain as well. Oh, there's also a little bit of extra penance," Aerith giggled.

"I told you I don't want forgiveness!" Sephiroth said angrily

"I know but putting up with Zidane will feel like penance"

Sephiroth felt as though he was surrounded by light (though he couldn't tell). Suddenly he experienced a tugging sensation and everything around him went dark.

* * *

The streets of Alexandria were packed and everyone seemed panicked. Zidane was really worried now about the reason why Dagger called him back. He was just passing the pub when he bumped into something below his line of sight. He looked down and saw it was one of Vivi's sons. He could also tell by the ribbon tied around its hat that this was Jeje. Vivi had three sons. Dagger had named one, he had named another and Eiko had named Jeje. Apparently Jeje meant Vivi but Eiko wasn't sure in what language.

Jeje adjusted his hat and stood up to face Zidane.

"Hi Zidane" squeaked Jeje, "What are you doing back?"

Jeje and the son Dagger had named, Leo (after the King in 'I Want to be Your Canary') were always nervous around him.

"Dagger asked me to come back, so here I am," Zidane chuckled, "So what's all the commotion about?"

"Well…Mr. Amarant said something was going to attack Alexandria soon…" Jeje answered to his feet.

"What! I gotta go see Dagger!" Zidane exclaimed running as fast as his legs would carry him to the docks leaving Jeje staring after him.

"I will destroy every world. One by one," she thought as she sat there, "I will save their people from pain".

Around her was a storm which seemed to reflect her own mood of sorrow and anguish.

She jumped off the rock she was sitting on and for a moment stopped to feel the rain hit her face.

Looking up at the sky she unfolded her wings and flew off into the storm of her own creation.

At the dock Zidane met Freya who told him that she too had come back to Alexandria to help.

"Jeje said Amarant told Dagger something," Zidane asked Freya.

"Apparently. I don't know the details. Her majesty wouldn't say anymore until everyone got here," Freya replied.

"Who's everyone?" Zidane inquired.

"Well… myself, Sir Fratley, Lani, Steiner but we were already here. Beatrix was in Daguerreo so she had to be called back but we're only waiting for you now. You're always late" Freya retorted.

"She's still holding six months ago against me isn't she?" Zidane said gloomily.

"You bet," Freya laughed.

Six months ago everyone had met in Alexandria to see a performance of 'I Want to be Your Canary' in celebration of Garnet's seventeenth birthday and of it being a year since their journey began. Until then the group had thought Zidane had been killed in the Iifa tree. In typical Zidane style, he made a grand entrance during the play as the lead role, Marcus. Garnet had been happy to see Zidane but annoyed as well.

"I said I was sorry! Why can't she forgive me?" Zidane wailed.

Freya chuckled, "I think she has. She just wants you to think she's still mad."

"I suppose I deserve it…" Zidane said.

When they reached the castle they were greeted by Eiko and Kuan, the son of Vivi's which he named. At the time he had wanted to call him Kuja after his brother but knowing it was a bad idea he decided on Kuan, a combination of Kuja and Quan, Vivi's 'Grandpa'.

Eiko, Leo and Kuan led Zidane up to Dagger's chamber where she, Beatrix, Steiner, Sir Fratley, Amarant and Lani were already assembled.

"Can we get started yet?" whined Lani.

"Yes, now Zidane has finally decided to arrive," Garnet said exasperatedly. At this Zidane laughed nervously. "Amarant has informed me that the kingdom of Alexandria is likely to be threatened in the near future by a horde of monsters from the east."

"What kind of monsters?" asked Beatrix.

"So far we have identified, Behemoths, Chimeras, Iron Men and Grand Dragons," answered Fratley.

"They're some of the strongest monsters in the world!" Eiko said anxiously.

"Yes, that is why her Majesty needs you all here. The normal soldiers are brave but no match for those types of monsters," explained Steiner.

"How long until they arrive Amarant?" Zidane inquired.

"Not long now since you had to be late" muttered Amarant in his usual arrogant tone. "They'll probably be here at dawn maybe a bit later."

Garnet looked out of the window and saw the sun was starting to set.

"We don't have much time but we must prepare ourselves as best we can. General Beatrix, Captain Steiner I am depending on you," Garnet announced formally.

"We will protect our great kingdom" they said in unison and marched out followed by Amarant, Lani, Freya and Sir Fratley.

"Eiko, I think we might need our eidolons," Garnet said anxiously.

"Okay," Eiko said quickly before dashing from the room with Kuan and Leo nearly knocking Jeje, who had just arrived, over in the process.

Zidane was now alone in the room with Garnet.

"Dagger?" Zidane asked questioningly.

"Not now, Zidane." Garnet said exasperatedly heading for the door. When she reached the door she stopped and said "Look, I'm not mad at you anymore but right now I have to protect my kingdom!"

"I understand. I'll just have to protect you" Zidane replied with his usual cheeky smile. However Garnet didn't hear this as she was already half way through the main chamber.

* * *

She stood on the hill looking down on the kingdom of Alexandria. Surveying her target. Is the one bound to the Calamity truly in that kingdom? She thought to herself. It didn't matter. Everyone would be saved eventually, just some sooner than others. The woman turned around and scanned her troops. All were the strongest monsters from this land and more than able to reduce the kingdom to ruins.

She recognised the Iron Giants, Behemoths, Abadons and Chimeras from her own dimension. Seeing those monsters made her think about the one she failed. She unleashed her anger by destroying some of each the familiar monsters. It didn't matter if she lost a couple, there were plenty more where they came from.

In the kingdom she could see people scurrying around obviously preparing for the battle ahead. An evil smile appeared on the woman's lips. She turned to her second in command who was cloaked from head to foot and sounds like a dog breathing were coming from underneath its hood.

"They are expecting us master…" barked the creature.

"Yes…" sneered the woman, "shall we speed things up?"

"What do you mean master?" rasped the creature.

The woman turned around and faced her troops. She then closed her eyes and began concentrating. A strange aura surrounded her body and illusions of speeding up clocks appeared above each of the monsters spreading to all of the assembled.

"Haste," the creature barked.

"Yes," the woman smiled with malice, "why delay the inevitable."

The dog creature howled into the night as a signal that the monsters should proceed. With the extra speed, they would soon reach Alexandria.

* * *

Garnet was sat in the royal gallery staring across the horizon watching the happenings below her. Sat on the stairs to her left was Zidane. After she ran from the main chamber he had followed her and refused to leave her side so he was trying to cheer her up. It wasn't working but Garnet liked that he was trying.

"Us eight managed to beat monsters like that before. It should be easy with us and the Alexandria soldiers," Zidane said as cheerfully as possible.

"Quina's not here," Dagger said miserably.

"Yes it is" getting up and pointing it out in crowd to Dagger. Sure enough Quina was helping the soldiers get the people to safety. For once, it was using its single mindedness for something other than food.

"Okay, but there's thousands! We only had to fight a few," Garnet signed mournfully.

"Don't be so negative!" Zidane replied hopefully.

"Zidane look!" screaming Garnet jumping up and pointing at the horizon.

Heading towards Alexandria was thousands of monsters at a very fast pace.

"They're not supposed to get here until dawn!" Zidane exclaimed.

"Look! They've had Haste cast on them!" Garnet observed. Sure enough each was moving with particularly twitchy movements a familiar sign that Haste had been used.

"Come on Garnet we've got to get you to your chamber" the pair span around and saw Eiko stood there with Leo, Kuan and Jeje.

"We're going to protect you Your Majesty" said Kuan nervously.

The group than ran up to Garnet's room waiting for the impending attack.

* * *

Sephiroth woke up surrounded by green. At first he thought that what had happened was a dream. However when his vision adjusted he saw he was in a forest and he could hear the cries of thousands of monsters and rumbling.

He got up off the forest floor and dusted himself down. He was happy to see that lying next to him was the Masamune.

It didn't take Sephiroth long to make his way through the Forest but when he did he was met with an astonishing sight. Thousands of monsters were climbing up the mountain to the nearby town and entering into its walls. Sephiroth recognised amongst the monsters Behemoths, Iron Men and Red Dragons.

Remembering what Aerith said about Zidane not following his destiny as the Angel of Death, Sephiroth deduced that it was unlikely to be Zidane attacking the kingdom. He began heading for the kingdom knowing the monsters were easy prey.

* * *

Zidane looked out of Garnet's bedroom window watching Freya and Amarant down below fighting the monsters. Constantly they would be buried by monsters and he would wait with baited breath willing them to remerge. So far they had every time. Zidane knew in his heart they were hopelessly outnumbered.

He stepped away from the window and looked across at the others. The Vivis were sat on the floor and Eiko and Garnet were sat on Garnet's bed singing the song from Madain Sari to give them hope.

Zidane looked out of the window again; Freya and Amarant were still fighting desperately. Beatrix and Steiner were out there as well but closer to the gate and he couldn't see them from where he was. He hoped they were still alive.

Only a miracle or some other form of angelic intervention could save them now.

* * *

Sephiroth easily cleared a path through the monsters. He did it in such a way it seemed almost like a rehearsed dance. The monsters on the ground were easily defeated by a slash of the Masamune and the aerial monsters were killed by a simple Bolt2.

Though the monsters were not difficult foes it was taking time to reach the town due to the sheer number of them. After killing a Red Dragon easily by running the Masamune through it he remembered when he set one on Cloud and the others in the Temple of the Ancients. This gave him an idea; he himself could control certain monsters, the Red Dragon being one of them. Sephiroth raised his right hand and pointed it into the sky. From it came forth a red pulse which spread to all the monsters.

Suddenly the Red Dragons turned on the other monsters. They began tearing and clawing at their once allies and knocking down the Abadons and Grand Dragons with their fire magic. When the monsters around them were defeated they would then attack the other Red Dragons and then themselves. Sephiroth smiled, this makes things easier he thought and continued heading to the town having to defeat few enemies himself.

* * *

The woman looked down and saw the silver haired warrior easily cutting a path through the monsters. He had taken control of the Red Dragons who were now diminishing the numbers of the other monsters.

She cursed to herself trying to figure out how many troops were left. It was still possible to find who she was looking for as long as the monsters in the town itself slowed the man down enough.

He intrigued her. The warrior reminded her of someone, but she couldn't work out whom exactly. The effortlessness with which he dispatched the monsters surprised her.

This man could become a problem, she thought.

* * *

Sephiroth had entered the town itself now. The sun was beginning to rise and he could see that the town was very old fashioned and looked more like something out of a history book.

Most of the monsters around the entrance to the town were dead so Sephiroth had few enemies to defeat but he still had to clear through the carcasses to reach where all the monsters were heading. The monsters seemed to be stampeding towards the large building that towered above all the others in the town. Though he had never seen one in real life, only in books, he could tell it was a castle.

As he drew nearer to the castle, Sephiroth could see ahead of him a circular area which the monsters ran around rather than through as if it was deflecting them. In the centre of this area was a cloaked figure duelling with two knights, a male and a female. The female wielded a light blade and wore a white eye patch over one eye. The male knight was wearing heavy silver coloured armour and wielded a broad sword.

Unsure if the figure was the nameless one, Sephiroth picked up speed slashing through the monsters faster until he entered the area.

The two knights were struggling and would soon be defeated by the strange creature which Sephiroth could now see clearly.

The figure had a face which Sephiroth couldn't tell whether it was human, dog or a combination of both. Its face and hands were covered with black fur which seemed to be greying in places and its neck was covered with white fur. Strangely it was carrying a crude looking spear but was wielding it with considerable skill.

Sephiroth jumped forward and placed his blade in between the creature's spear and the female knight's sword. The knights steeped back, surprised at the intrusion.

"Who are you!" barked the creature.

"The one who's going to kill you like the dog you are," Sephiroth said, smiling with malice.

The dog creature lunged at Sephiroth but he elegantly sidestepped the attack surprising his opponent. The knights had set to killing the monsters in the surrounding area but always keeping an eye on the battle between the strange duellists.

Sephiroth charged forward with his sword, the creature blocked, but just barely. It swung its spear round like a windmill but Sephiroth swiped at the dog creature leaving a gash along its side. His opponent yelped in pain and lashed out clumsily. Sephiroth took the opportunity to remove its left hand or paw he couldn't tell which. It dropped to its knees nursing its severed wrist whimpering. Sephiroth was about to deal the final blow when suddenly it jumped up at him. The unfortunate creature was then met with the Masamune through its chest.

* * *

Zidane watched the strange figure lazily cut his way through the hordes of monsters. He was dressed all in black, had silver hair and carried the most unusual sword Zidane had ever seen. It was about as tall as its wielder- maybe even longer.

Even though the warrior's task had been made easier by the unusual occurrence of the Red Dragons turning on the other monsters, it was still impressive to watch.

Not far from the castle Beatrix and Steiner were fighting a strange opponent which appeared to be half human half dog. Despite their combined skills the opponent was besting them. However a silver haired warrior appeared.

He easily defeated the creature piercing its chest with his strange sword and continued heading towards the castle. Zidane couldn't tell whether the stranger was good or bad but Dagger seemed to think the man had evil intentions. Unable to look any longer she had returned to sitting on her bed. Zidane and Eiko however couldn't look away, they both intrigued by the warrior. With the man heading to castle and guards likely to be unable to stop him, Zidane sincerely hoped he was on their side.

* * *

Sephiroth came to what appeared to be a dock which he assumed must lead to the castle. Not letting it deter him he cast Ice on the water to create a bridge across allowing him to reach the castle.

When he was nearing the main door to the castle he was approached by several guards. Remembering what Aerith had said about hurting those who weren't his enemies he just cast Stop on the guards. He entered the castle and came to a staircase where more guards were appearing to try and stop him, he cast Stop again.

"Stop right there you knave!" came a pompous voice from behind Sephiroth.

He stopped and turned around amused. Behind him was the male knight who had been fighting the dog creature and following him was the female one.

"What is your business in Alexandria?" said the female knight furiously.

Sephiroth thought it best to answer even though he knew he could defeat the pair.

"I am looking for the one they call Zidane," Sephiroth answered. The two knights looked at each other surprised.

"Why are you looking for Zidane, warrior?" said a female voice from behind him. He turned around and was faced with a girl of about 17. She had long dark hair and though she wore casual clothes he could tell from her manner that she held a position of power.

"If you are not Zidane it is none of your concern," replied Sephiroth simply.

"How dare you speak so to the Queen of Alexandria!" exclaimed the male knight jumping up and down infuriated behind Sephiroth, his armour clanking.

Sephiroth found the knight's antics amusing but didn't allow it to show.

"Where I am from we don't have royalty. As I am not from this country I don't see why I need to bow down to its monarch," Sephiroth retorted. Guessing that Zidane was there, though unlikely to be the girl in front of him, he began to head for the stairs with the intention of looking for them.

However the girl did something Sephiroth didn't expect; a strange aura surrounded her and a creature appeared. It looked like a horned rider atop an eight legged, armoured steed. It was the summon Odin. The summon charged towards Sephiroth and pulled back its sword. Sephiroth merely raised his right palm and held it facing the creature. The moment Odin hit Sephiroth, the summon turned into black smoke and disappeared.

_To be continued… _

**_Author Notes: Well that's chapter one. The idea came randomly into my head 'put Sephy with Monkey Boy'. Chapter Two is complete so just click next chapter button to read it. I'm currently working on chapter three in which lots of things happen. If you've guessed who the Nameless One is just from reading this chapter, you're either very good at fathoming my logic or you can see the future. More clues will appear in chapter Two_**

**_I like people who review by the way _**

**_Disclaimer: Squaresoft/Squarenix owns the characters, location etc. I just own the plot and I thought of names for Vivi's sons. _**


	2. Warrior of the Planet

**Part Two: Warrior of the Planet**

Zidane was still watching the silver haired man and was amazed as he created a bridge of ice over the water near the castle.

"He's nearly at the castle gate" Eiko said anxiously.

"I'm going down to the entrance hall," Garnet said rising and heading for the door, "If he's a threat I think it's time for the eidolons."

Eiko nodded in agreement and followed her. Zidane then turned around and saw the two retreating out of the door.

"Dagger, wait!" said Zidane as he chased after them.

When they reached the balcony over looking the entrance hall, the strange man was entering followed by Steiner.

"Stop right there you knave!" roared Steiner in his usual pompous tone. At this the figure turned around to see who was talking to him. He didn't notice the people in the balcony above watching him but now Zidane could see him more clearly. He looked in his early thirties but a strange strength and aura seemed to radiate from him giving the impression that he could be younger. His hair was silver and his eyes were a strange green which seemed to glow with their own light.

"What is your business in Alexandria?" gasped Beatrix who was now entering out of breath from running after Steiner. The figure paused for a moment before saying in a voice that could chill fire, "I am looking for the one they call Zidane."

Zidane was shocked and wasn't sure what to do. He started to head to the stairs but Eiko and Kuan grabbed him.

"No, he could be dangerous!" Eiko whispered desperately. However Garnet was now heading down to talk to the stranger. Zidane watched in horror as she walked half way down the steps and addressed the silver haired man.

"Why are you looking for Zidane, warrior?" she said in a formal, confident tone but Zidane knew it was hiding terror. The man turned round an observed Garnet for a moment before answering, "If you are not Zidane it is none of your concern."

This infuriated Steiner and in usual 'Rusty' style he jumped up and down, his armour clanking, roaring, "How dare you speak so to the Queen of Alexandria!" Despite the outburst the figure didn't turn around.

"Where I am from we don't have royalty. As I am not from this country so I don't see why I need to bow down to its monarch," the warrior retorted. After saying this he began to walk towards the stairs totally ignoring Garnet. However an aura surrounded Garnet and she called forth the eidolon Odin, one of her most powerful. It charged towards the figure who looked mildly surprised at its appearance but not scared in the slightest. He merely raised his right palm towards the eidolon waiting for it to come towards him. The moment Odin hit the figure the eidolon disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

A stunned silence descended upon all those there. Garnet stared shocked at the spot where her eidolon once stood. Zidane began walking down the stairs. The figure watched him curiously as he descended.

"I'm Zidane," Zidane said, "Why are you looking for me?"

The figure paused before saying "You are Zidane? You're not quite what I expected."

"Who are you?" Zidane said a bit annoyed but also curious.

"I am Sephiroth," said the man, seemingly amused at Zidane's bluntness. Then as if sensing the unrest around him said "Don't worry, I am of no threat to you."

"Why are you looking for me?" Zidane said again annoyed that his question was yet to be answered.

"I am told that I am in need of your assistance," replied Sephiroth simply and a little bitterly.

"Why do you need my help?" Zidane asked surprised.

"Wait, Sir Zidane! We don't even know who he is. We only know his name. Shouldn't he explain himself first," said Beatrix anxious for the young Genome. Zidane wasn't as scared of Sephiroth now but agreed. Garnet nodded also and they headed up to the royal chamber followed by the silver haired warrior. As they were about to enter the chamber Zidane heard Beatrix and Steiner whispering to each other.

"Do you think this Sephiroth is a threat to Zidane?" Beatrix asked Steiner.

"I don't know, but Zidane is probably the one least at threat from him," replied Steiner.

Zidane was sure that Sephiroth had heard this and hoped he wouldn't test the theory.

* * *

She screamed angrily into the darkness. She still hadn't found the one linked to JENOVA and her loyal pet was dead.

"Who was that silver haired man?" she thought. She found it strange that her pet's powers were diminished in the warrior's presence. That had only happened before with…him…

* * *

Sephiroth had been surprised at Zidane's appearance. He wasn't what Sephiroth was expecting with a title such as 'Angel of Death'. The comment of the male knight, that Zidane was the least at risk from him, surprised him as well. Was Zidane a powerful warrior despite his small size he thought?

When they reached the room he entered watched by the entire group except the Queen who kept looking anxiously at Zidane as though fearing for him.

"Well?" the female knight said sharply. This amused Sephiroth as she seemed to be as formal as the Queen, yet when addressing him, had been blunt.

"I came here looking for Zidane. I was told that I need his help to save the dimension I come from," Sephiroth explained.

"You come from another dimension?" gasped the small purple haired girl with the horn.

"Ridiculous!" barked the male knight.

"He speaks the truth," said a strange echoing voice. Everyone in the room looked around except the little girl and the Queen. They seemed to know who was speaking but it surprised them.

"Shiva?" asked the Queen to empty air. Suddenly icicles appeared then smashed revealing Shiva, the Ice Queen. However she was wearing different attire to when he had seen her summoned. She had her long blue hair in a ponytail and wore a crown of ice. Otherwise she donned her usual small amount of clothing. The sight of the Ice Queen reminded Sephiroth of when Tifa had summoned her in the final battle against him. By then his powers were so strong that her attacks did little to him, however he worried whether she would tell the group what he had done in his own dimension.

"This man speaks the truth. I have encountered him before and it was in another dimension," Shiva said her voice echoing off the walls. At this Sephiroth was sure she was going to reveal what he did. He could get out easily as long Zidane was not a powerful warrior but he would have failed his mission. He wouldn't exist.

* * *

Zidane was shocked when Sephiroth said he was from another dimension but it made sense. He certainly hadn't seen anyone like Sephiroth before and Zidane had travelled the whole planet. He didn't fear Sephiroth like Garnet did who during the meeting kept glancing towards Zidane as if to check Sephiroth hadn't harmed him yet. Her attention was then redirected however when Shiva appeared. It was rare that an eidolon appeared without being called, but of course it did happen and the Ice Queen confirmed Sephiroth's claim that he was from another dimension. Zidane found this strange and wondered how she could know about what happened in other dimensions.

"How do you know about other dimensions Shiva?" asked Zidane, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I can travel to alternate dimensions. Most Eidolons can, but in other dimensions we are known by different collective names. For example in the dimension, Spira we are known as Aeons. In the dimension, the World of Balance we are called Espers," Shiva explained.

"I never knew that alternate dimensions actually existed. I thought they were just in stories," said Eiko amazed.

"Like I said, they do exist and this warrior here is from another dimension called The Planet." Shiva replied before disappearing in a cloud of snow.

"An evil known as 'The Nameless One' has come to this dimension to erase someone from my own dimension called JENOVA." Sephiroth explained, "There is supposed to be someone in this dimension linked to her. By killing them in this dimension with their link to JENOVA active they can erase JENOVA from existence."

"Why is JENOVA significant?" said Freya who had entered whilst the others had been talking.

"It stopped a meteor crashing into the planet and destroying it. By erasing JENOVA the Nameless One wants to destroy the planet in my dimension;" Sephiroth replied.

Zidane found all this confusing but he thought he had the gist of the story.

"So you've come here to defeat the Nameless One and you want my help?" Zidane summarised.

"Yes," Sephiroth said simply.

"How do these events affect our own dimension?" inquired Beatrix.

"Once they've destroyed one dimension they will set their sights on destroying another. If the Nameless One is not defeated then your dimension will also be destroyed eventually," Sephiroth explained, becoming impatient.

"Why Zidane's help?" Eiko wondered aloud.

"I don't know myself," Sephiroth replied, "I was hoping you could tell me."

"Probably to do with saving Gaia, I imagine," said Steiner strangely calmly, with an air of describing something much simpler.

Zidane tried to detect any recognition of what Steiner has said on Sephiroth face, but if he was amazed, it didn't show. He was curious about his task and couldn't help thinking 'not again'. He had saved the planet once and now he had to do it a second time and another world was on his shoulders this time as well. However he had little choice.

"Okay. I don't really have a choice so I'll help save the Planet…again." Zidane added exasperatedly.

"I really think we should tell Cid and Hilda about this. They may be able to help," suggested Garnet.

"So are we heading to Lindblum then?" Eiko asked.

"Is that alright, Sephiroth?" Zidane asked a little nervously as he didn't want to get on the wrong side of Sephiroth. However Sephiroth merely replied, "Fine".

"We've been awake all night so we'll leave this afternoon. We'll adjourn for now to get some rest," Garnet said in her typical royal tone.

"Eiko, show our guest to a room," requested Beatrix.

Eiko then left followed by Sephiroth. The rest of the group also headed to their rooms leaving just Garnet and Zidane. Garnet cast a worried look towards Zidane before heading through the door to her chamber. He guessed why Garnet had looked at him like that. She was scared of Sephiroth and what he might do. Zidane mused about the silver haired warrior all the way down the corridor to his room. He still wasn't entirely sure whether Sephiroth was friend or foe but he seemed to have good intentions. Zidane reached his room and entered. Garnet had judged people wrong before. Maybe this is one of these times he thought as he shut the door.

* * *

The little girl was talking but Sephiroth wasn't listening. The girl known as Eiko was now leading Sephiroth down the corridor to a guest room and was talking almost constantly. However Sephiroth mostly ignored what she was saying. He knew the Queen didn't trust him and she was worried about Zidane. He just hoped she wouldn't make things difficult as he didn't want to feel the effects of the Planet's measure to stop him hurting innocent people. She may also know that I am not all I seem he thought. Sephiroth found it strange that these people didn't fear him as much as in his own dimension. He was more revered much like when he was in SOLDIER; before the incident in Nibelheim.

"Here we are," Eiko said annoyingly opening the door for Sephiroth. He merely walked past her and shut the door.

"So weird…" he heard Eiko's muffled voice say from behind the door.

* * *

The information I was given was obviously false, she thought. She'd make the one who gave her it pay. The one linked to JENOVA hadn't been in Alexandria and wasn't even on the Mist Continent. She wasn't sure where to head next exactly, all she knew was that three more continents to check. She summoned her wings again and flew north-west through the cloudy skies.

* * *

"Don't play with the monster lure,"

"I summoned it so I can play with it!"

A dark haired boy dressed in black was sat on a log cleaning what seemed to be a type of sword. He was talking to a dark haired girl dressed in blue. She seemed to be prodding a strange floating ball of light. They were in what appeared to be a forest.

"You'll attract stronger monsters if you make it any bigger," the boy sighed, "We might not be able to fight them off."

"Aww, we can handle it," said the girl waving her hand over the orb, "You're my knight remember."

"How could I forget," the boy sighed.

The scene faded to be replaced by another.

"No!" screamed the girl as she watched the boy slashing at the monster. It looked like a giant lizard and was clawing and biting at the boy who was barely holding it at bay. The girl repeatedly tried to cast spells but kept losing her concentration. The monster lunged forward at the boy and at the same time the girl successfully released a spell. The monsters fell dead but so did the boy, he had stabbed the monster through the chest at the same time as being impaled as well. The girl's spell had missed entirely.

The scene then went dark.

* * *

Sephiroth then woke up. It was just a dream. Who were the people in it he thought. Unlike most dreams he could still remember the events vividly. A dark haired boy and girl had been training in a forest. However the girl had done something incredibly immature and dangerous, resulting in the boy's death.

Regarding the dream as nothing significant, Sephiroth got up off the bed and walked over to the window. To him the view was strange as he was used to large, polluted cities where there was only night. Seeing the skyline of a city which still had daytime was unusual.

* * *

Tossing and turning in his bed, Zidane was having a troubling dream…

In the dream a girl dressed in yellow who has light brown hair is running through a thick forest.

"Quick I heard her scream from over there!" the child gasped as she continued running at top speed, constantly receiving nicks and cuts from the braches which were hitting her face. Some people were following her but they couldn't be seen clearly.

The girl kept running until she entered the clearing and saw a monster which looked like a giant lizard. Lying next to it was a dark haired boy dressed in black who was covered in blood. Kneeling next to him was a dark haired girl dressed in blue who was sobbing into her hands.

"What happened?" the yellow clad girl said horrified.

"The monsters….it… tried to stop it….He's dead!" was all the dark haired girl could gasp. The yellow clad girl walked over to the boy and checked for a pulse. It was unmistakable. He was dead.

* * *

Zidane awoke; the dream still clear in his mind. He sat up on the bed trying to remember what happened in it. A girl dressed in yellow has been running through a forest. She had found one of her friends dead and the other barely able to talk because of what had happened.

By the fact he could still remember it; Zidane knew that the dream was important. How the three were dressed suggested they weren't from his dimension.

"Maybe they're from the same dimension as Sephiroth?" he thought aloud.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Erm…Mr. Zidane…Eiko told me to …give you a message," said a muffled voice from behind the door which was obviously either Leo or Jeje. "She said to tell you to….'Get out of bed or face her wrath'…"

Zidane chuckled, "Okay, I'll be right out."

* * *

How does this thing stay up? Sephiroth thought to himself. He was now on the Alexandrian royal airship called 'The Red Rose II'. It was far less advanced than the airships from his own world that he had travelled on during his time in SOLDIER.

Sephiroth also couldn't help thinking about what Zidane had told him just after boarding the airship. Zidane had been the last to arrive on the airship. He had strolled on, a cocky grin across his face, half-heartedly apologising. The more Sephiroth saw of the Zidane the more he reminded him of Zack.

Zidane had then told Sephiroth about when the group saved the world the first time. They had defeated a man who was the same race as Zidane called Kuja who turned out to be his brother. Kuja's actions bared similarities to Sephiroth's own, he realised. The journey Zidane and his friends had travelled seemed similar also to that of Cloud and his group.

However, Kuja struck Sephiroth as cowardly. He was prepared to erase all existence in that dimension so he wouldn't have to die alone. Sephiroth on the other hand was trying to prevent his own existence from being erased. Maybe I'm the one who is cowardly? he thought, he quickly dispelled these thoughts from his mind.

Sephiroth glanced across at Garnet who had been watching him. She quickly looked away embarrassed. The Queen got up from where she was sitting in the bridge and heading towards the deck.

Sephiroth had further proof she didn't trust him. In that dimensions only certain people could summon. Maybe they had enhanced instincts such as his he thought.

Whatever her reason, she was obviously scared for Zidane.

* * *

Zidane was stood on the deck of the Red Rose II looking out onto the plains they were now crossing. He kept thinking about his dream and what it could mean. Was it showing the future? Was it showing the past? Did it have hidden meaning? Or was it showing something that was happening at that very moment?

Something else was troubling him as well, one word, Sephiroth. He was still curious about him. He only told what he had to and none of the group knew much about him. Garnet had asked her eidolons but either they didn't know anything or they couldn't tell.

Zidane heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Garnet coming towards him, a worried look on her face which seemed to be constant since Sephiroth's arrival.

"Hey," Zidane said, "What's up?"

"You know 'what's up'. Him," Garnet replied sadly.

"Sephiroth?" Zidane inquired.

"Of course. There's something he's not telling us and I don't trust him," Garnet explained.

"Don't you believe he's from another dimension?" Zidane asked.

"I do because Shiva confirmed it. It's just…when I look in his eyes it's like Kuja looking back," Garnet said scared.

Kuja had repented in the end but Zidane didn't correct Garnet. He knew she meant before when he had tried to fulfill his job as Angel of Death.

"When I ask my eidolons about him they won't tell me much but what they do say something, they say it in…dark tones. Odin refuses to be summoned near him because he's too terrified. A man powerful enough to scare an eidolon is not a good person," Garnet said desperately trying to convince him. Zidane loved Garnet but he trusted Sephiroth, he couldn't help it. That was just his nature.

"Are you coming back in Garnet?" Zidane and Garnet turned around to see Eiko looking at them.

"Yes," Garnet said heading towards the door, "I stand by what I said. If you're still going to trust him just be careful…for me."

"Aren't I always?" Zidane asked cheekily. Garnet allowed a small smile then left.

Zidane then returned to his thoughts.

* * *

The group could finally see Lindblum towering in front of them. Sephiroth surprised the group by being unimpressed. Midgar dwarfed Lindblum which was about the same size as the Golden Saucer.

When they reached the airship docks in the castle they disembarked and were greeted by a man named Minister Artania.

"Princess Garnet! What a pleasure to see you again. What brings you to Lindblum?" said Artania.

"I need to see Uncle Cid and Aunt Hilda we believe something terrible is going to happen" Garnet replied.

"Follow me," he replied urgently.

Sephiroth could tell that Zidane was watching him.

"What?" Sephiroth asked sharply.

"I was just going to tell you to be polite here. Lindblum's troops might actually hurt you," Zidane chuckled.

Sephiroth retained his stoic silence. He realised what Aerith meant about this boy, he thought; he's insufferable.

"Aww come on Sephy! Don't be so stiff!" Zidane said before quickening his pace to walk with Garnet.

The genome reminded him of Zack more and more.

* * *

"I'm afraid Lindblum can't help you fight this Nameless One,"

"What!" Zidane exclaimed. He had been sure Cid would help them. Again Sephiroth showed no emotion. He just observed what was happening in his usual silence with his usual unreadable expression on his face.

"If this Nameless One is attacking Kingdoms then Lindblum may be next. We need our troops here to protect the city if that should happen," Cid explained.

"I understand…" Garnet said a little sadly.

"However I may have an idea how this Nameless One entered Gaiaterra," Hilda added.

"How?" squeaked Eiko curiously.

"The Terra portal,"

"Shimmering Isle?" Zidane asked.

"It is a gateway between two planets so why not between dimensions," Freya commented.

"Exactly," Hilda replied, "I am almost certain this Nameless One used that portal to enter this dimension. Though whether they will return there I do not know."

"What about the one linked to JENOVA?" Zidane asked, "Do you know who they might be, Hilda?"

"I'm sorry Zidane, but I don't know. The only advice I can give you is that you need to try and think about how has a similar personality to JENOVA. The only one who could know that is Sephiroth."

"Okay, next stop the Shimmering Isle," Zidane said. It was already reminding him of when they were chasing Kuja; constantly having to travel across the world from one continent to the next.

The group left and headed back to the airship, their destination, the Terra Portal. In his heart Zidane guessed that the Nameless One wouldn't be there. His life was never that simple.

* * *

The area surrounding the 'Shimmering Isle' reminded Sephiroth of the area around Northern Crater where he had slept for 5 years.

The others were obviously cold but Sephiroth didn't feel the cold at all. He continued scaling the mount that stood on the island followed by the others who were struggling to keep up. For some reason the airship had been unable to get close to the island. A strange barrier had held it back, this had forced them to go out on foot.

"Hey Sephiroth, wait!" Zidane shouted gasping. Sephiroth continued climbing ignoring Zidane. Zidane then managed to pick up speed and reached Sephiroth.

"How come you aren't cold?" Zidane asked panting. Sephiroth didn't answer; he was looking down into the Crater at the top of the Isle. Inside appeared to be pure shadow but it wasn't possible with the Sun shining onto the island. Sephiroth then realised what it was.

"Feathers?" Zidane said confused. In the crater were thousands of black feathers.

"How did these get here?"

The others had caught up now and where staring amazed into the crater.

"Who, or what, left these?" Eiko said picking one up. The moment she touched it however it disappeared. "Weird…"

"What?" Garnet said to empty air. The others turned to look at her and realised she was talking to her eidolons. "Bahamut says that this does act as a gateway to other dimensions…and someone did come through here recently."

"The Nameless One?" Zidane asked.

"I think so."

"Look at Esto Gaza!" Freya exclaimed horrified.

Rising from place known as Esto Gaza were huge columns of smoke which reached several hundred metres into the air.

"Come on!" Garnet and Zidane said in unison before tearing down the mount towards the airship at the bottom.

"I remember before she met Zidane, she wasn't quite as reckless," Steiner said before chasing after the Queen. The others followed suit. Before going after them, Sephiroth glanced towards the column of smoke. He knew he could sense something there and he guessed who had attacked Esto Gaza, the Nameless One.

* * *

When they reached Esto Gaza, it wasn't a pretty sight. People were lying dead or wounded everywhere and despite the cold many buildings were on fire.

"Me, Garnet, Eiko and Jeje will go see if the villagers escaped to Mount Gulug. The rest of see if you can find any survivors," Zidane said hurriedly before heading through one of the buildings. The others also dispersed leaving Sephiroth looking at the destruction around him. He couldn't help remembering when he laid Nibelheim to waste, at seeing the other's reaction to the ruined village he felt a pang of guilt, but only for a moment. He quickly dispelled any feelings of remorse towards the destruction he himself had caused.

Sephiroth began scanning across the bodies to see if anyone was alive. The rat girl was running around using potions on those alive near the entrance but the further in Sephiroth went, the fewer survivors there were. He had now passed all the others who were busy helping those alive. He emerged from the main building and came to a pier which looked over the continent. Stood at the edge of the pier, with her back to Sephiroth, was a girl with dark hair. She was wearing a dark blue cloak and a simple pale blue dress. The cold wind was blowing her hair and she had one hand on her head trying to stop her hair being blown about.

There was something familiar about this girl, Sephiroth thought as he approached her.

"Do you know what happened to this village?" Sephiroth asked finding it strange the girl was unscathed.

"Oh yes," the girl said patronisingly, remaining with her back to the warrior.

"Who are you?" inquired Sephiroth cautiously.

The girl giggled, "If you tell me your name, I'll tell you mine."

Knowing it was pointless to try and reason with the girl he began drawing his sword.

However he was interrupted by Eiko.

"We've found them!" the young summoner squeaked as she emerged from the mountain. Sephiroth looked back to the girl and saw she was gone.

"They're in the mountain…What are you looking at?" Eiko asked curiously. When she didn't get a response she ran off to tell the others.

"Who was that girl?" Sephiroth thought aloud gazing across the icy plains.

_To be continued…_

**_Author's Notes: Chapter Three is up. I promise it has more action than this chapter. Anyone who guesses who the Nameless One is now is clever person but not necessarily a seer of the future . _**

**_I like people who review by the way _**

**_Disclaimer: Squaresoft/Squarenix owns the characters, location etc. I just own the plot and I thought of names for Vivi's sons. _**


	3. Visions from another world

**Part Three: Visions from another world**

Finally, I know the location of the one linked to JENOVA. I can destroy the Planet dimension; I can save it from pain…

Their protectors shouldn't be too much of a problem. They are soulless golems after all…I doubt the one will be much of a threat herself.

* * *

How much further? Zidane thought to himself as he made his way through Mount Gulug. He remembered the last time he had come through here. He and the others had been chasing Kuja when he had kidnapped Eiko. Eiko was walking a little ahead of Zidane and Garnet and surprisingly, didn't show any recognition of that fact. 

The four of them, Zidane, Garnet, Eiko and Jeje were looking for the Esto Gaza villagers. Kuja had opened the mountain caves so they were now able to escape to them if the village was threatened.

Eventually the group reached a dead end.

"Where now?" Garnet asked. Zidane looked around for any route they could take; the only one he could find was a fraying rope which was hanging down to the floor below.

"Looks like we've got to climb down this" Zidane said testing his weight on the rope. Satisfied that it would hold, he began climbing down followed by Garnet. When he reached the bottom he told Eiko and Jeje to wait, he wasn't sure if they'd be able to get back up again.

Zidane and Garnet headed through the mines, which were now pitch black. They could barely see anything ahead.

"This mine is creepier than I remembered," Zidane said jokingly. Suddenly there was a large bang like metal hitting stone. They spun around, Garnet grabbing hold of his arm. From what they could see it was only a bucket which had fallen down one of the mine shafts. They continued deeper into the mine until they heard voices up ahead. They ran towards the sound, their footsteps echoing in the empty darkness, and found themselves at a staircase. Below them, the room was filled with lights from the torches held by about forty of Esto Gaza's villagers.

"Garnet go back and tell Eiko to let the others know we found them," Zidane said.

"I'm not going alone!" Garnet exclaimed.

Zidane chuckled, "Okay, okay. We'll both go."

They retraced their steps until they reached the rope.

"Eiko, go back and tell the others that we've found the villagers," Zidane shouted up the shaft.

"Okay," Eiko replied before leaving.

The pair then went back to where they had seen the villagers and headed down the stairs.

"What happened?" Garnet asked one of the villagers.

"A young woman, must've been a mage, came into the village. She said something about someone called JENOVA and that she was looking for someone connected to them," replied an old woman amongst the crowd.

"What did this woman look like?"

"She had long dark hair, and was wearing a blue cloak and dress," said one of the children.

"She was pretty, but she didn't seem to be anything special so we didn't pay her much mind at first," added a middle aged man.

"That has to be the Nameless One; or at least someone working for them" Zidane said.

"Did she say the name of the one connected to JENOVA?" inquired Garnet.

"No" replied the first woman. "She just said that they were female, had blonde hair and a monkey tail. Like yours young man."

"What?" exclaimed Zidane.

"The one linked to JENOVA must be a genome," Garnet realised.

"Yes, that's what we thought. When we said that they weren't in Esto Gaza the woman started summoning monsters to attack the town, as well as doing a fair bit of damage herself," replied Esto Gaza's priest. "Most of us escaped to these caves but the monsters kept attacking. We didn't have any choice but to tell her where the genomes lived. It was the only way to make her stop."

"Wait a minute!" Zidane said, realisation dawning on him. "The Nameless one is looking for someone whose soul is linked to JENOVA's…"

"And the only other genome with a soul is…" Garnet continued.

"Mikoto!" they said in unison.

* * *

Eiko was being her usual annoying self, thought Sephiroth. She talked never-endingly, constantly changing the subject when she realised she wasn't going to get an answer. She had started off asking Sephiroth what he was looking at, then it had changed to how old he was and then it had gone to 'would he let her hold the Masamune'. To each of these questions she had received no answer. The topic was now what his dimension was like. 

"Does it have lots of cities or does it just have a few big ones? Sephiroth? Sephiroth!" Eiko exclaimed. In his usual fashion he just ignored her. "You're no fun!" She then finally went off to talk to the black mages.

Zidane and Garnet then emerged from the mountain with worried expressions on their faces.

"The Nameless One is looking for Mikoto," said Garnet, gravely.

"What? She's the one linked to JENOVA?" Eiko squeaked.

"Who is this Mikoto?" Sephiroth asked.

At first the group were surprised that Sephiroth had actually asked a question, he usually just listened. However Freya answered, "She's Zidane's sister. She's the joint leader of the black mages and genomes."

"So, the Black Mage Village is next then," said Steiner.

* * *

"Why Mikoto?" Zidane thought as he stared along the corridor of the Red Rose II. Everyone else had gone to their cabins to get some rest but Zidane couldn't sleep; he was too worried about Mikoto. He was stood slumped against a wall in one of the corridors. Despite her lack of emotion, Zidane knew she was strong, but strong enough to equal a being capable of preventing a meteor hitting a planet? It didn't seem possible. He had described to Sephiroth what Mikoto was like and Sephiroth had said there were similarities between Mikoto and JENOVA. The evidence seemed fairly conclusive. He just hoped they got there in time. He didn't want to see the Black Mage Village burning and full of corpses like Esto Gaza had been. He hoped Mikoto wasn't hurt either. After a while his train of thought subsided a little and his mind soon gave in to sleep.

* * *

During his slumber, Zidane had a strange dream. 

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm LATE!!!" gasped a girl dashing along a corridor which looked as if it was from another world. She had light brown hair and was wearing dark blue and grey clothes. It was the girl from Zidane's last dream except she seemed younger and dressed differently

She continued running until she bumped into someone.

"Are you ok?" It was the boy from Zidane's last dream, although he couldn't tell exactly as he too looked younger and wasn't covered in blood.

"There. Tee-hee. I'm fine. Sorry I was kinda in a hurry. Oh yeah! Hey did you just come from that class? Is…homeroom over?" the girl asked.

The boy nodded.

"Woo…Oh nooo…This place is soooo much bigger than my last Garden! Oh hey, hey. I just transferred here. Do you think you could give me a tour of this Garden?" asked the girl in a sweet voice.

"Don't have the time," replied the boy, gruffly.

"Oh, bummer. That's too bad. Well, see ya." The girl said before running back down the corridor.

Then another scene appeared.

The same girl was running through the streets of a town. The place also looked as if it were from another world, though not as much as the corridor in the last scene. She eventually spotted two people and ran towards them. The girl climbed up onto a rock but slipped, landing on her knees and narrowly missing the cliff nearby. In front of her was the boy from the corridor and another. He had spiky yellow hair and black markings on his face. All of the three were wearing blue and grey clothes which seemed to be some kind of uniform.

"Are you Squad B?" asked the girl, still a little sore from her fall.  
The dark haired boy nodded.

"I'm…a messenger from Squad A. Where's the Squad B captain," the girl asked looking around.

The two boys pointed to another at the bottom of the cliff. He had pale blonde hair and was wearing a white trench coat.

"One of these days, I'm gonna tell ya 'bout my ROMANTIC dream!" the other boy said before running off.

The girl sighed, "This sure is tough…Captain! Wait up!!" She then jumped off the cliff, landing perfectly, totally unharmed.

"What are you waiting for!? Come on! Come on!" the girl shouted to the two boys on the cliff.

This scene went dark to be replaced by another. It seemed to show the dark haired boy again coming into, what seemed to be, a train carriage followed by the dark haired girl from his last dream; the girl who could barely speak because she had seen the boy die.

Another vision then appeared. It showed a grey haired woman in a red dress. She was battling against six people. These included the dark haired boy and girl, the yellow clad girl, the boy with blonde spiky hair and two others; one male, one female. The female was blonde, wore a red jacket and skirt and wielded a whip. The male had long hair tied in a ponytail which was under a hat. He also carries a strange weapon which looked like a long metal cylinder.

The battle then faded out leaving darkness.

* * *

"Zidane! Zidane! Wake up!" 

"…Uh…five more minutes…" Zidane muttered keeping his eyes firmly shut. He was now laid on the floor. It was obviously Eiko's shrill voice that had woken him.

"You're in everyone's way!"

Zidane remained exactly where he was, his eyes still shut.

"Kuan? Can you use any Water magic?" Eiko asked.

"Sure…" Kuan's voice answered.

Sensing what was about to happen, Zidane opened his eyes and sat up, "Alright, I'm up! I'm up!"

"Good! Come one we gotta go check on Mikoto!" Eiko said before running off.

Sephiroth then strode past Zidane who was still sat on the floor. He reached the door and allowed Garnet to go past him. She gave Sephiroth her typical look of distrust and walked up to Zidane.

"The airship's landed on the cliff above the woods surrounding the village. Come on, you'd better hurry up," sighed Garnet exasperatedly before heading back down the corridor.

He was worried about what the dream he just had meant, but his first concern was Mikoto so he pushed it out of his mind.

* * *

Sephiroth walked down the ramp of the airship, staring across the plains of the Outer Continent. The Red Rose II had landed on the cliff above the Black Mage Village and the group were to climb down the cliff. Following him was Eiko and the three black mages. Despite her usually persistent nature, for the meantime, Eiko seemed to have given up on trying to get a response from Sephiroth. She ran up to the cliff and peered over the edge. 

"We have to climb down this?" she whined, "Why can't we just walk through the wood like last time?"

"Because this way is faster and the monsters in the woods are a lot stronger than they were a year ago," Freya replied.

Eiko grudgingly began climbing down the cliff followed by the Black Mages and Freya. Zidane then appeared out of the airship with Garnet who gave Sephiroth a dark look. He glanced back then jumped to the bottom of the cliff, though the way he did it made it look as if he had floated. Zidane jumped off the cliff and landed somewhat less gracefully than Sephiroth.

"Wow, how do you do that?" Zidane said after he recovered from the long jump.

Sephiroth as usual didn't answer and headed towards the woods.

The group passed through the woods and Sephiroth noticed that they seemed to be passing through the same area over and over.

"There's a spell on the woods that makes the same clearing appear over and over. It stops people getting into the village," Zidane explained as if able to read Sephiroth's thoughts. "Now, where'd that owl go?"

Sephiroth noticed that the group seemed to be watching a large brown owl which had just flown across the clearing and landed on a branch the opposite side.

"There it is!" squeaked Eiko before running down the path below where it perched.

The rest of the group followed.

Sephiroth was puzzled when they reached what appeared to be a dead forest. The three Black Mages purposefully began walking towards the trees which suddenly became green.

"An illusion," thought Sephiroth.

They continued on through the trees until they came to a small village. The houses were small and had thatched roofs. A boardwalk surrounded some of the houses in the centre. The strangest thing about the village however was the inhabitants. Some looked like the three black mages and others looked like Zidane.

"The village looks unharmed," Steiner observed.

"That's strange…" Zidane said looking around.

"Maybe she didn't get here yet" Zidane thought. The village was unscathed but there was a definite feeling of fear.

A Black Mage and a Genome, seeing Zidane walked towards the group.

"Mr. Zidane!"

"Is Mikoto here?" Zidane asked the pair.

"No, a strange human woman came and took her away. We couldn't stop her, she used magic to stop us from moving," the Genome explained sorrowfully.

"What did the woman look like?" inquired Garnet.

Another Genome stepped forward, "She had long black hair and was wearing a dark blue cloak and pale blue dress."

"It was the same woman who attacked Esto Gaza then," Zidane said sadly.

"Didn't Mikoto fight back?" Eiko asked.

"Yes but the woman trapped her in a strange crystal, then left," the Black Mage answered.

"Strange crystal?" said Steiner.

"Yes, the woman trapped Mikoto in a small blue crystal which was on her belt," the Black Mage replied.

"Did the woman say anything as to why and where she was taking Mikoto?" inquired Freya.

"She just asked for Mikoto when she got here and said that we couldn't protect her as we were 'soulless golems' and easy to manipulate. She didn't say where she was going," another Black Mage said furiously.

"Now we have no leader…" a Genome said mournfully.

"What about No. 288?" asked Zidane, confused.

"He stopped…about a week ago," a Black Mage replied sorrowfully.

"No…" whispered Leo sadly. After Vivi had stopped, the three had seen No. 288 as a father figure.

"We don't know where the Nameless has gone so I suggest we stay here to tonight and try and restore order," Garnet suggested formally. Zidane nodded, at present they couldn't help Mikoto, but they could help her home.

* * *

Sephiroth wandered round the village intrigued by its appearance. In his world villages like this were a thing from History. He continued walking around the village until he was brought out of his reverie by a female voice. 

"Sephiroth?"

He turned around and was surprised to be confronted with the Queen of Alexandria.

"I wish to ask a favor," she said. Sephiroth could tell it was an effort for her to keep her tone civil.

"What is it, Your Majesty?" he said in a mock polite voice.

She scowled, "Zidane has wandered off somewhere. Most of us are busy and with the monsters becoming stronger lately, none of us can leave the village alone, except you. So…"

"So you want me to find Zidane?" Sephiroth finished.

"Yes," Garnet replied.

Sephiroth didn't answer, he just turned around and began heading for the entrance of the village. He thought it strange that Garnet had actually tried to be civil for once, thought it had been an effort. As he headed towards the woods he felt the sharp stab of his conscience, reprimanding him for being rude to her. It was an unfamiliar sensation; he hadn't felt in a long time.

Shaking it off he entered the strange clearing the group had passed through several times earlier and eventually reached the rock face. Deciding he didn't want to climb up it, he summoned his single black wing and flew up to the top of the cliff. Zidane was sat staring across at the ocean, oblivious to Sephiroth's presence. Sephiroth walked towards Zidane retracting his wing again.

"Isn't it rather foolish to come out here alone?" Sephiroth asked. At this Zidane jumped and looked around until he saw Sephiroth standing there.

"What about you? You came out here alone," Zidane retorted.

"Your fair maiden asked me to look for you," Sephiroth replied.

"You're actually talking to me!" Zidane exclaimed.

"Don't get used to it,"

Zidane laughed and continued his silent vigil looking across the ocean.

"Why are you out here on your own anyway?" asked Sephiroth.

"I just wanted to be alone for a bit. In the village everyone kept trying to cheer me up. No danger of that with you," Zidane chuckled then paused for a moment, "Mikoto may not be my sister by blood but I love her as if she were and…I want to find her, I don't want her to get hurt…Do you know what I mean?"

Sephiroth thought for a minute. He didn't understand what Zidane was saying. However he had the feeling he would have understood once, most likely before JENOVA and his madness. The fact he couldn't remember such emotions scared him. It hadn't before, but now it did. Sephiroth noticed that Zidane was looking at him, curious.

"We should get back to the village," Sephiroth said finally. Zidane nodded and stood up.

* * *

A boy with dark brown hair, the boy from earlier dreams was stood slumped against a wall in what appeared to be a ballroom. A couple of people walked past and talked to him only to be dismissed. He looked out of the large windows as a shooting star flew across the sky. Glancing down at the sea of couples dancing, he was spotted by a girl with black hair, wearing a white dress. She looked very familiar, more so than the boy. The girl walked across, grabbed the boy's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. He danced clumsily at first but eventually settled into it. 

This scene faded and another appeared.

The same boy walked into a bedroom in which the girl was sleeping. She was wearing blue this time. The girl stirred and sat up noticing the boy stood there.

"Hey... You're...! You know, from the party... So...does that mean... You're a SeeD!?" the girl asked cheerily.

"I'm the squad leader. There's 2 others with me." The boy replied.

"YEEESSSS! SeeD is here!" the girl exclaimed running up to the boy and hugging him.

"Take it easy," it replied untangling himself from the girl.

The scene that followed wasn't so cheery. A woman in a long black dress, decorated with a fan like ornament on the back, was casting an ice spell. On her right hand side was a blonde boy wearing a white trench coat. In front her were the boy and girl and another boy with long brown hair wielding a gun. The woman created two, metre long icicles which hovered in the air above her. With a sweep of her hand they flew through the air missing the girl by millimetres but hit the boy below his left shoulder. The girl screamed and watched the boy fall towards the ground. The scene went black.

Even in the next vision, the darkness didn't lift much. It was in space; the girl was wearing a strange white suit and was floating through the endless expanse. Floating towards her was the boy, also in a strange white suit. He caught her just as a red spaceship flew past.

The next scene showed six people fighting a woman with silver hair, dressed in red. The six were the boy and girl, the boy with brown hair and a gun, a girl with brown hair in a yellow dress, a blonde boy with markings on his face and a blonde girl carrying a whip. The boy from the other scenes rushed forward performing what looked like a Limit Break with a strange type of sword, defeating the woman.

Before dying the woman managed to gasp, "Reflect on your...Childhood...Your sensation...Your words...Your emotions...Time...It will not wait...No matter...how hard you hold on. It escapes you..." The group were then enveloped in a white light and the dream ended.

As the last vision ended, Sephiroth woke up. The same figures from his last dream had also been in that one. After the original dream he had pushed it to the back of his mind but he knew now they were trying to tell him something. Sephiroth realised then why the girl was so familiar; she was the one he had seen in Esto Gaza. She either worked for the Nameless One or was the Nameless One herself.

Deciding to wait and see what happened in their search, Sephiroth walked out of the room and headed to meet the rest of the group near the entrance to the village.

* * *

Zidane hadn't slept that night; he was too worried about Mikoto. He was sat on the steps leading to the item shop, waiting for the others so they could work out where to head next. Unsurprisingly the next person to arrive was Sephiroth, to which Zidane was glad. Like he had said to Sephiroth the night before, he didn't want to be cheered up. Sephiroth seemed to ignore Zidane and just went to stand against a wall in his usual stiff manner. It was an action very similar to what Amarant would do, Zidane observed as he returned to his thoughts. 

It wasn't long before the others surfaced and, surprisingly, it was Eiko who thought of where to head next.

"Well, when we went to the Shimmering Isle we knew they'd been there because of all the feathers. It used to be the link between Gaia and Terra so why don't we try Ipsen's Castle?" Eiko squeaked.

"Good idea," Garnet replied.

"Then, if they're not there why don't we then head to Desert Palace?" Zidane suggested. At this the others shuddered.

"Are you crazy?" Eiko exclaimed, "We can't go in there, it'd be suicide!"

"Only if we're alone," replied Zidane, "but we'll be in groups so it'll be okay."

Zidane then turned to Sephiroth, "I told you about Desert Palace when I explained about saving Gaia, remember?"

"I vaguely recall you mentioning it," Sephiroth replied in his usual stoic manner.

"It was bad enough then, but it's worse now," Eiko said gravely, "If you go in there alone, the Bloodstones summon the souls of the dead to torment you. It summons the dead person most likely to make you leave."

Zidane couldn't help thinking who he would see but he also thought about who Sephiroth might see. At this he realised he knew very little about the silver haired warrior.

"We'd better get going," Zidane said. The group then headed back to the airship.

* * *

"The monsters are stampeding!" Garnet gasped. 

The group were on the airship staring down at the monsters rampaging around the strange looking castle.

"I've only seen that happen around the Iifa Tree when the way to Memoria was opened and when the Nameless One sent monsters to attack Alexandria."

"She must be there," Eiko said still watching the monsters mesmerised.

"Set the airship down away from the castle, we'll walk," Zidane said to the pilot.

"Wait! We're not going down there?" Eiko exclaimed.

"Of course we are. The Nameless One's there, so we go and get her. We'll cut our way through the monsters," Zidane said.

Sephiroth smiled internally. He was just as reckless as Zack as well as acting a lot like him. However Sephiroth liked Zidane's plan. It was simple and quick to implement.

The pilot set the airship down and the group disembarked.

Sephiroth looked across at the monsters charging past the castle, he found it strange they weren't attacking them.

"They aren't attacking," Steiner said bemused.

"Maybe she's not in there?" said Garnet hopefully.

"Or maybe they won't attack unless we get in the way of the stampede," Freya suggested.

"Only one way to find out," Zidane said taking out his twin daggers and stepping forward. The others looked horrified and held back obviously hoping he would change his mind.

"I must be mad," thought Sephiroth as he unsheathed the Masamune and walked past the others towards Zidane. Seeing Sephiroth, Zidane smiled and ran forwards into the herd of monsters. Sephiroth followed him and just as he entered the stream of monsters he saw the others timidly coming towards them.

The monsters were no challenge and fell easily to the groups' attacks. Watching Zidane in battle Sephiroth could tell he was a skilled swordsman though perhaps not the same standard as Cloud or himself. Around him Sephiroth could see the others battling the monsters. Garnet and Eiko, devoid of an offensive weapon, were summoning eidolons to remove monsters from their path. The Black Mages were using Black Magic, which despite their size, was very powerful. The rest of the group used their weapons and Sephiroth could see how they had defeated Kuja and Necron.

Eventually they broke through and made it to the castle. They waited a minute to rest from the battles. Sephiroth, needing very little rest, dispatched any monsters that came too close.

"When we go in, I think should split up," Zidane suggested.

"Good idea, we can cover more of the castle then," Freya said.

"Ok, I'll go with Garnet and Leo, Steiner, Eiko and Jeje will form another group and Freya, Kuan and Sephiroth the other. We'll go first, then Steiner's group a little after, then Sephiroth's," Zidane instructed.

He then headed into the castle with his group leaving the other six. After waiting a while, Steiner's group went in. As Sephiroth's group were about to head in a Catoblepas jumped out of the stampede and began charging towards the group.

"I'll deal with him," Sephiroth said surprisingly calmly, waving Freya and Kuan inside. Reluctantly they agreed and entered the castle leaving Sephiroth to fight the monster alone.

The monster was easy prey and was soon defeated. Sephiroth began walking up the steps into the castle. However the noise of the monsters disappeared.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," said a young, male voice, a voice Sephiroth recognised.

He turned around and stared across at where the rampaging monsters once had been. All he could see was endless plains. Sephiroth looked down at the bottom of the stairs and was met with the face of Kadaj, a taunting smile on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Sephiroth said showing no emotion. However he was curious as to how Kadaj had got to Gaiaterra.

"I'm here to warn you," Kadaj jeered bitterly, as if he didn't want to give Sephiroth the warning.

"Warn me about what?" Sephiroth said again showing no emotion.

"Let's just say I wouldn't go in there if I were you," replied Kadaj, smiling, an insane, maniacal smile.

"Why is there something dangerous in there?" Sephiroth said, his patience wearing thin.

"Only dangerous to you," Kadaj chuckled before disappearing.

Sephiroth wasn't sure whether to believe him. At first it had seemed that Kadaj hadn't wanted to give Sephiroth the warning. It was even possible that it had been an apparition created by the Nameless One to stop him entering the castle. However, the apparition had the same aura as the real Kadaj.

Sephiroth decided to believe Kadaj for now and began heading down the steps.

Desert Palace was the next destination so Sephiroth decided to head there. From what Zidane had told Sephiroth about his travels, he had a vague idea of where it was,

"It shouldn't be hard to find," he thought.

Sephiroth glanced back at the entrance to the castle before summoning his wing and heading north east towards his next destination.

* * *

Ipsen's Castle was quieter than he remembered. So far they had seen no monsters whatsoever. The castle usually housed some pretty strange and unusual ones but they hadn't been attacked at all. Zidane, Garnet and Leo were heading towards the room that once housed the elemental mirrors, hoping Taharka, the monster that had guarded them, wasn't still there. 

"Is it me, or is it too quiet?" Garnet whispered.

"It's not you," Zidane replied, "We've seen no monsters at all. We should have been attacked several times by now."

"I have a bad feeling," said Garnet, simply.

"You're not the only one."

The trio eventually reached the room and were surprised by what they found. The torches that usually illuminated the room were extinguished but the room was still full of light. The mural on the back wall of the world map, where the mirrors usually hung was now glowing a milky white. Zidane walked towards it, unsure why it was doing that.

"Should we touch it?" Zidane said.

"It might be dangerous," replied Garnet.

"We'll wait till the other get here then." Zidane said leaning against one of the side walls.

It didn't take long for Steiner, Eiko and Jeje to arrive.

"I wonder why it's doing that?" said Eiko and was about to touch it when Steiner grabbed and hand and pulled it back.

"Don't touch it, it's most likely dangerous," Steiner barked.

"How can it be dangerous? It's so pretty," Eiko retorted.

"Why is the mural glowing?" Zidane turned around and saw Freya and Kuan had arrived, but not Sephiroth.

"Where's Sephiroth?" Zidane asked.

"A monster came as we about to come into the castle. He stayed outside to fight it," Freya explained.

"Do you think our interdimensional friend will know what it is?" Steiner asked.

"He might," said Garnet thoughtfully.

"We'll wait for him; one monster wouldn't be able to defeat him. He'll probably be here in a minute," Zidane said settling back in his position lent again the wall.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sephiroth was flying across the ocean towards Desert Palace. He was wondering if an apparition would appear before him; he didn't know anyone from Gaiaterra who was dead. 

Suddenly he was surrounded by a bright light. When he opened his eyes he was floating in a white expanse and stood in front of him was Aerith.

"You again," Sephiroth said a bit annoyed, "What do you want now?"

"Grouchy as usual," Aerith giggled.

"Do you actually want something?" asked Sephiroth exasperatedly.

"Actually yes, I don't appear just to annoy you, you know. That's an added bonus," she laughed.

Sephiroth frowned, he was becoming annoyed now, luckily Aerith noticed.

"We've been looking at the dreams you've been having and I've talked with the eidolons," Aerith said more serious this time, "Ifrit recognised the events in them and we've discovered who the Nameless One is."

"I know what she looks like," Sephiroth said, "I saw her in Esto Gaza."

"The fact she appeared to you also helped us identify her," Aerith added, "She's from another dimension called Hyne. She's a sorceress, which is why she can use magic of the magnitude you've been seeing. Her name's Rinoa."

* * *

Zidane was really worried now; Sephiroth should have easily beaten the monster and have reached that room already, even if he hadn't been there before. Zidane had a horrible feeling something had happened to him. Maybe more monsters had appeared and had been too much for even him to handle or maybe the Nameless One had attacked him. 

Zidane glanced across at Garnet and saw her about to touch the wall.

"Garnet, no!" Zidane said running up to stop her.

"A voice is telling me to touch it," replied Garnet as if she were in a trance.

Zidane grabbed her just as her hand made contact with the wall. A bright light surrounded the pair and the last thing Zidane felt was a tugging sensation.

_To be continued…_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Hehe, Cliffhanger! Finally the Nameless One is revealed. Yay. Though you may have guessed who it was already. The final parts are done so just click the nest chapter button to read them.**_

_**I like people who review by the way**_

**_Disclaimer: Squaresoft/Squarenix owns the characters, location etc. I just own the plot and I thought of names for Vivi's sons. And I made up the circumstances of Squall's death. Yes the dark haired boy is Squall._**


	4. Darkness of a Heart

**Part Four: Darkness of a Heart**

"We've been looking at the dreams you've been having and I've talked with the eidolons," Aerith said, "Ifrit recognised the events in them and we've discovered who the Nameless One is."

"I know what she looks like," Sephiroth said, "I saw her in Esto Gaza."

"The fact she appeared to you also helped us identify her," Aerith added, "She's from another dimension called Hyne. She's a sorceress, which is why she can use magic of the magnitude you've been seeing. Her name's Rinoa."

"I thought Sorceresses were fictional," replied Sephiroth.

"In our dimension, yes. In Hyne they do exist and can be very dangerous if separated from their Knight. The boy you saw in your dreams is Rinoa's knight, Squall. You have a link to him, like JENOVA does to Mikoto. That's why you've been seeing some of Squall's memories and why you were able to defeat Rinoa's pet, Angelo at Alexandria. As you saw, Squall was killed, and to an extent, Rinoa was responsible. That turned her mad. Now she wants to destroy everything to prevent suffering. Her logic has been twisted," Aerith explained sadly.

"Did she destroy her own dimension?" asked Sephiroth, wanting to have a better idea of what his opponent was capable of.

"Not yet. The others you saw, they managed to stop her from destroying Hyne. However one of them was killed. She then used her powers to travel to another dimension, which happened to be Gaiaterra. Now she wants to destroy every dimension starting with the Planet, by awakening the link between JENOVA and Mikoto, then killing Mikoto. As I told you, that would erase JENOVA from existence. When she has done that, she intends to destroy Gaiaterra," explained Aerith.

Sephiroth realised this Rinoa's actions were not too dissimilar to his own. Despite her killing spree at Esto Gaza her grand plan seemed very clever, if perhaps a little overcomplicated. Though the same could be said of some of his plans to destroy the planet.

"You are right to be heading towards Desert Palace, but I would be careful when you go in. The stories the others told you about it are true," Aerith finished.

Suddenly the white light dispersed and Sephiroth realised he was hurtling towards the ocean below him. He quickly righted himself and continued to his next destination.

* * *

Zidane stared around the white void; Garnet was stood next to him clinging onto his arm.

"This is interesting," Zidane said faking calmness.

"Why did I touch the wall?" Garnet whispered.

"It looked like you were under a kind of spell," said Zidane, looking at the young queen.

Suddenly the pair were stood in a white room. Stood at one end was a man in a white coat, he wore spectacles and had untidy black hair. Zidane thought he looked insane. He didn't seem to see the two stood there so Zidane assumed it was just an illusion like the ones they had seen in Memoria. Another man entered, he was wearing a red suit and had blonde hair flecked with grey.

"Why have you dragged me down here Hojo, I'm a busy man!" the man bellowed at the man named Hojo.

"Oh I think you will like this, Mr. President," Hojo said, a trace of amusement in his voice.

"It had better be good!" the man said rather rudely.

"You remember me telling you about my little experiment. The future of SOLDIER I believe where the words I used," replied Hojo.

"Ah yes. I do remember. I assume they're ready now?" the man president questioned.

"I will let you be the judge," Hojo cackled, "You can come in now."

A young boy of about 13 came into the room. He was wearing a blue jumper and trousers and a black shoulder guard. In his left hand was a sword which looked slightly longer than a normal sword. The most interesting feature about him however, were his eyes, which were a glowing a bright green, and his hair which was silver.

"Sephiroth…" Garnet gasped, confirming Zidane's guess at who the youth was.

"It's just boy Hojo," the president said, enraged. In an instant Sephiroth have moved from his position inside the door to in front of the president, the sword held millimetres from the president's throat.

"Haha, excellent, Hojo," the man laughed.

"Perhaps a further demonstration?" inquired Hojo.

Hojo went across to what seemed to be a control panel and pushed a button. At the other end of the room, a panel slid up revealing what looked like a monster but appeared to be of metal.

"Sephiroth?" said Hojo indicating that he should attack.

The teen rushed at the metal monster, slicing it at and cutting various parts of it off, finally causing it to explode by casting a lightning spell at it.

"Amazing. It's perfect Hojo," the president said awestruck before beginning to exit the room.

"Well not quite, there's still come behaviour issues, but it won't take too long to amend that," replied Hojo following the other man.

Throughout their exchange, Sephiroth remained looking at the destruction in front of him. He sighed.

"Why am I always an 'it'?" he said wearily before turning around and leaving the room himself.

The void then returned to white.

"Poor Sephiroth," Zidane thought aloud. Garnet didn't reply. Zidane guessed they were seeing a scene from Sephiroth's past. He couldn't help thinking how similar Sephiroth's situation was to what his own could have been; an instrument of destruction.

Another scene appeared around Zidane and Garnet.

Sephiroth, who looked only slightly younger this time, was sat at a desk reading through a file when a voice rang out.

"Haha, still working, Sephy?" The voice had come from a younger man with dark brown hair. His attire was similar to that of the teenage Sephiroth.

"What did I say about calling me that?" Sephiroth said menacingly.

"Erm…It involved pain, I remember that," the boy said smiling.

Sephiroth sighed and continued reading.

"What ya reading?" the boy said.

Sephiroth ignored him so he tried to peer over the top of the file, however Sephiroth didn't move.

"Cloud Strife…Age 14," the boy read aloud.

"Zack, don't you have duties to do?" Sephiroth asked exasperatedly, shutting the file.

"Erm...nope," Zack laughed, "I thought I'd come and bug you,"

Sephiroth sighed, annoyed and threw the folder at Zack.

"If you're not going to go away then at least make yourself useful," Sephiroth said.

"Who's this 'Strife' kid anyway?" inquired Zack, opening the folder.

"He's a SOLDIER candidate but he keeps causing trouble. He's been passed to nearly every company so far," Sephiroth explained.

"So they're dumping him on you," Zack finished, "Some of these things aren't even bad….They kicked him out for that!"

Zack laughed before shutting the folder, "He seems like a perfect candidate."

"I was hoping you would say that. You get to keep an eye on him," Sephiroth replied.

"What!" Zack whined.

"That's your punishment for calling me 'Sephy'."

The room then faded to be replaced by what seemed to be a town. Sephiroth walked past Zidane followed by Zack who walked right through Garnet, causing her to cling onto Zidane's arm tighter.

As quickly as the illusionary town appeared it faded again. This time a strange room appeared. It was full of metal containers and there was a staircase in the centre leading to a door. Sephiroth was talking to Zack again. Zack climbed onto one of the containers and looked inside. Immediately he fell back.

"Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako. You're different from the others, but still human. But, what are they? They've been exposed to a high degree of Mako, far more than you," Sephiroth said to Zack.

"…is this some kind of monster?" Zack managed to gasp.

"Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these monsters really are," replied Sephiroth.

"Normal members of SOLDIER? You mean you're different?" asked Zack, confused. At this Sephiroth paused and stared at one of the containers oddly

"H…hey, Sephiroth!"

"N…no… Was I?" Sephiroth said quietly drawing his sword and striking the tanks.

"…Was I created this way too? Am I the same as all these monsters…?" Sephiroth roared still slashing at the container.

"…Sephiroth." Zack said sadly.

"You saw it! All of them…were humans…" cried Sephiroth leaning against the tank, appearing defeated.

"Humans!? No way!" Zack exclaimed.

"…I've always felt since I was small… That I was different from the others. Special, in some way. But…not like this…" whispered Sephiroth, despairingly.

There was a flash of light and Zidane and Garnet were now stood in what appeared to be a small library. From behind one of the shelves they could hear laughter. It was a cruel laugh that caused the hairs on Zidane's neck to stand on end. The voice seemed familiar though. Zack appeared again and walked through Zidane this time. The pair followed him.

"…Who is it!? Hmph…traitor," said the voice. Zidane was pretty sure he recognised the voice now. As they walked past the bookshelf they saw Sephiroth sat on a desk at the back of the room a file in his hand.

"Traitor?" Zack asked, confused

"You ignorant traitor. I'll tell you. This was an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on… At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. But, those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return! Those are your ancestors," snarled Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth…" Zack muttered sadly.

"Long ago, disaster struck this planet. Your ancestors escaped… They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase. Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports."

"What does that have to do with you?" Zack asked confused.

"Don't you get it? An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project. The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients……no, the Cetra! …I am the one that was produced," replied Sephiroth annoyed, throwing the folder onto the desk.

"Pr…produced!?" Zack gasped.

"Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me," Sephiroth said, getting off the desk and walking towards Zack.

"How…how did he…? Se…Sephiroth?" Zack said as he tried to stop Sephiroth walking past him.

"Out of my way. I'm going to see my mother," Sephiroth spat as he shoved past Zack.

After recovering from being pushed out of the way by the much stronger warrior, Zack chased after Sephiroth. Zidane and Garnet followed him. When they came out of what had been a mansion, they saw the town from earlier, ablaze. Zidane could feel Garnet grip his arm. He knew seeing the town on fire reminded her of when Alexandria had been attacked and when Madain Sari had been destroyed.

They continued to follow Zack through the burning town until the strange room with metal containers appeared again. Zack ran up to Sephiroth wielding a large sword. He lunged at Sephiroth only for his blade to be blocked by Sephiroth's. Sephiroth then grabbed Zack and threw him into one of the containers knocking him unconscious, both swords falling at the bottom of the stairs. The silver haired man then entered the door at the top of the stairs. As he went through the door, a girl entered the room. She looked about 15 and had long dark brown hair. Picking up Sephiroth's sword she ran up the stairs after him. However he saw her coming and wrestled the sword off her before striking the girl with it. She went flying down the stairs and landed at the bottom in a heap. As she fell another figure arrived. He wore a kind of blue uniform and a mask that covered his face. The figure walked over to the girl and moved her to one side. Throwing off his mask, he picked up Zack' sword before walking up the stairs. The figure seemed quite young and had blonde spiky hair. Sephiroth then emerged from the back room, a strange object, which looked strangely like a head, under his arm. The blonde ran up to Sephiroth and plunged the huge sword into Sephiroth's stomach.

"Aaarrrgh…who...who are you?" Sephiroth gasped in pain.

"Mom...Tifa...my town...give it back...I had so much respect for you...I admired you..." the boy cried obviously trying to hold back tears.

Sephiroth pulled the sword out and pushed past the boy before exiting. The boy retrieved the huge sword and began heading out. As he was leaving, Zack called to the blonde. "Cloud... Kill Sephiroth..."

Zidane and Garnet followed Cloud as he ran after the silver haired warrior.

"Sephiroth!!" cried Cloud.

Sephiroth stabbed his sword into Cloud's right shoulder causing him to drop his own weapon.

"Don't... push... your luck..." gasped Sephiroth.

Cloud gave Sephiroth a look of pure venom, before pulling out the long sword and using it to throw Sephiroth into the chasm below.

The next image that appeared seemed similar to the corridor Zidane had seen in an earlier dream. Covering the floor were several pools of blood. Zidane glanced at Garnet and saw she looked very white. At the end of the corridor was Sephiroth advancing on a man in a uniform similar to the one Cloud had been wearing.

"No! Please don't kill me!" the man cried hysterically.

Sephiroth responded by cutting the man down violently. As he did, Garnet buried her head into Zidane's chest, unable to watch.

Zidane followed Sephiroth up a flight of stairs until they came to a large white room. At one end was a desk and sat at it was the blonde man from an earlier memory, the president. The president looked up but Sephiroth had disappeared. He looked around the room warily, oblivious to Sephiroth materialising behind him. Sephiroth quickly stabbed his sword into the other man's back, killing him instantly. Garnet had seen none of this as she kept her head against Zidane's chest, eyes shut. Zidane knew that she could hear the events however and guess what was happening.

The scene faded and the white expanse returned.

"You can look again," Zidane said quietly to Garnet. She slowly lifted her head up and looked around at the endless white.

Images began to flicker through the void quickly then. The first showed Sephiroth impaling a huge snake creature on a tree. Then a strange metal room; Cloud and some others were there and were watching Sephiroth appearing through the floor. The next showed the library from earlier. This time in the room were Sephiroth and Cloud, Sephiroth threw a strange orb at Cloud before disappearing. The final scene before the white reappeared seemed to be in a hole. Cloud and a girl were looking at a black orb on the ground. The girl wore a pink dress and a pink ribbon in her brown hair. Cloud picked up the orb but Sephiroth appeared again and made a motion with his hand. Suddenly Cloud looked as if he was unable to control his body. He walked over to Sephiroth and handed him the orb. The images then faded.

The white returned only for a moment before a new scene appeared. It seemed like a blue expanse with a staircase made of light encircling a group of platforms in the centre. On the middle platform, the girl in pink was kneeling in prayer, he eyes closed. The pair were stood on the platform next to the girl. Jumping across the platforms towards them were Cloud, the girl who Sephiroth had attacked earlier but she looked older this time and a man with black hair, wearing a red cloak. Cloud walked towards the girl but paused before unsheathing his sword, Zack's sword. The blonde lifted it above his head and was about to strike it down when the others called to him.

"Cloud!" cried the girl.

"Stop it!" the man in red exclaimed.

Cloud stepped back looking horrified, "Ugh... what are you making me do."

The girl opened her eyes and looked up at Cloud. She smiled just as Sephiroth stabbed his sword through her stomach. She gasped and looked down, horrified at the blade protruding from her. Sephiroth smiled a cruel smile before pulling the sword out again. The girl's eyes closed as she slumped forward. Her ribbon fell out of her hair as did a white orb which fell from the platform. She was dead.

"...Aerith. This can't be real!" Cloud gasped.

"Do not worry. Soon the girl will become part of the Planet's energy. All that is left is to go North. The 'Promised Land' waits for me over the snowy fields. There I will become a new being by uniting with the planet. As will this girl..." Sephiroth cackled.

"...Shut up. The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aerith is gone. Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry…or get angry…What about us...what are we supposed to do? What about my pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!" Cloud roared tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings too?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud stood up quickly "Of course! Who do you think I am!?" he exclaimed.

"Ha, ha, ha…Stop acting as if you were sad. There's no need to act as though you're angry either. Because, Cloud. You are..." Sephiroth laughed floating upwards and throwing down an orb which released a monster. The group defeated it easily but Sephiroth had disappeared. The white void returned and a cold female voice rang across the expanse.

"Because, you are…a puppet,"

"I'm…a puppet?" replied Cloud's voice.

Zidane felt something wet on his arm. Garnet, unable to take it any longer had lent her head against his chest, tears running down her cheeks. He wondered when they would get out of the endless expanse; the white light was starting to hurt his eyes.

The burning town appeared again as did Cloud, Sephiroth and the girl with dark hair. A strange creature was with them this time; it looked like a cross between a wolf and a cat. The creature had red fur and its tail seemed to be on fire. The group seemed to be unaffected by the flames around them which made Zidane think that the flames were an illusion to them as well. Cloud fell to his knees and the scene disappeared.

The white flashed only momentarily this time before being replaced by black. Zidane looked around and saw right of them was Sephiroth and on the left, Cloud. Zidane pulled himself and Garnet out of the path of the two battlers as Cloud unleashed a devastating attack. His blade split into several creating a circle around Sephiroth. Cloud then jumped from one blade to the other grabbing them and striking his opponent with them. Zidane noticed Garnet watched this, not with horror, but with a fierce determination. This determination scared him. Cloud grabbed the final blade and struck Sephiroth with it. The silver haired warrior fell, defeated.

The darkness lifted differently this time. It seemed to drip away like blood revealing what seemed to be a ruined city with many futuristic looking buildings.

Zidane and Garnet were stood on a ledge and watched as a boy about their age came flying through the air and grabbed onto the ledge. He wore black and had silver hair and green, glowing eyes like Sephiroth. Under his right arm was tucked a black box which he had managed to keep hold of. The boy's double bladed sword flew through the air and fell towards the ground as Cloud landed near the boy. Cloud looked down at the silver haired youth for a moment before the boy threw the box into the air and jumped towards it. He opened the box and cradled the contents which Zidane and Garnet couldn't see.

"My Reunion…That you're dying to watch," the boy said tauntingly. The boy started writhing in pain as he hurtled towards the ground. Cloud jumped down after the boy as he landed, unharmed, grabbing his double bladed sword.

As Cloud struck the boy he transformed into a familiar silver haired warrior, Sephiroth. The double bladed sword he was holding lengthened and turned into Sephiroth's usual sword.

"Good to see you…Cloud," Sephiroth said, looking up at the blonde. Cloud gasped before Sephiroth slashed at him with his longer sword and sending him hurtling onto a platform above. Sephiroth jumped up after Cloud and landed gracefully in front of the blonde warrior.

"You're Geostigma's gone…That's too bad," said Sephiroth in a mocking tone.

"Sephiroth…What do you want?" Cloud said scowling.

"The last thoughts of Geostigma's dead. Those remnants will join the Lifestream and Girdle the Planet, choking it…corroding it…What I want Cloud is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this Planet as my vessel. Just as my mother did long ago…" Sephiroth explained almost dreamily.

He extended his hand towards the heavens and black clouds began swirling above enveloping the ruined city in darkness.

"And one day we'll find a new planet. And on its soil we'll create a shining future."

"But what about this Planet?" demanded Cloud.

"Well…that's up to you, Cloud…" Sephiroth said.

The two charged towards each other, their blades crashing together. As this happened the image flickered to be replaced by another. The two were battling but Cloud was obviously tiring. Caught off guard, Sephiroth disarmed him and threw him into a wall in a sitting position. The silver haired warrior then thrust his sword into the blonde's right shoulder, in the same position he had in an earlier vision. Cloud winced and looked at the blade in his shoulder.

"Tell me what you cherish most…Give me the pleasure of taking it away," Sephiroth said, amusement showing in his voice.

Cloud stared at Sephiroth with hatred and found strength to remove the blade from his shoulder. He pushed it into the wall behind him, giving him time to stand up as Sephiroth wrenched it out. Cloud slashed his blade at Sephiroth but he quickly jumped out of the way.

"I pity you…You just don't get it all…" Cloud said a trace of sadness in his voice

Sephiroth gave a half smile then ran towards Cloud. He swung his blade but the blonde blocked it with his.

"There's not a thing I don't cherish!" Cloud exclaimed before swinging his blade around above his head.

Sephiroth was immobilised as Cloud's sword split into several swords again. They encircled Sephiroth who now had a look of terror on his face. The blonde grabbed them one at a time striking his opponent who grunted in pain with each hit. Cloud then landed with the swords falling to the ground encircling him. He looked up at Sephiroth as he caught his original sword. Sephiroth now had a single black wing protruding from his right shoulder blade and was floating a few feet from the ground.

"Stay where you belong…in my memories," Cloud said, finality in his voice.

"I will…never be a memory…" said Sephiroth defiantly before his wing enshrouded him. He disappeared in a whirl of black feathers, turning back into the silver haired boy.

The white emptiness appeared again for the final time. Zidane looked down at Garnet who was deep in thought. He didn't know what to think of the events. Suddenly Zidane heard a gentle female voice.

"Think on what you have seen genome, but remember people and events are not always what they seem. The same is true of the One Winged Angel."

"What?" Zidane asked the emptiness.

"Who are you talking to?" Garnet inquired timidly.

"You didn't hear it?" said Zidane surprised.

"Hear what?"

"Never mind," Zidane said before the white disappeared and they found themselves in the mirrors room in Ipsen's Castle.

* * *

Rinoa walked down the stairs in the airship dock outside Desert Palace. As she stepped out of the sunlight, she pulled the hood of her cloak down revealing dark brown, almost black hair. Rinoa came to a circle emblem on the ground. She knelt down and ran her fingers along the pattern. At her touch, the markings began glowing. She smiled before stepping onto circle and allowing it to transport her into the palace.

* * *

Zidane's group was heading to Lindblum on the Red Rose II to plan their next move. Though they had said about going to Desert Palace, Zidane had been outvoted against going there, seven to one. He was silent, as Garnet relayed to the others what they had seen in the void. They looked horrified at what Sephiroth had done but Eiko looked confused. When Garnet had finished, the group dispersed to think on what they had heard. However Eiko came up to Zidane.

"You don't think he's as bad as you saw, don't you," Eiko whispered making sure Garnet couldn't hear her.

"No. In a way he reminds me of Kuja. He did lots of terrible things but he wasn't entirely to blame," Zidane replied, "You agree with me?"

"I know I can be annoying at times and particularly to Sephiroth but he's never hurt me or said a horrible word to me," Eiko whispered.

Zidane noticed Garner looking over at the pair suspiciously. Eiko noticed too and went over to speak to Garnet. Zidane sighed; he wasn't sure what to do now.

* * *

Sephiroth emerged from the teleporter and entered a room with another teleporter and a door in the centre. He walked into the centre of the room and paused wondering which route to take. Looking around the room someone appeared in front of him.

"If it isn't the 'Great Sephiroth'," jeered the figure.

As they appeared Sephiroth could see they wore black, had green eyes and silver hair like himself, except it was short, and he appeared to be in their early twenties.

"Who are you?" asked Sephiroth.

"Hmph. I'm Loz, Kadaj's brother," replied the figure, annoyed.

"So you're a remnant," Sephiroth said, amused that a remnant would stand up to him.

Loz scowled, "Kadaj died because of you!" They way he said it sounded like a whining child, Sephiroth noted. He also realised that this 'Loz' was obviously afraid of him by the way he was stood. He stepped towards Loz drawing the Masamune causing Loz to edge back a few paces. Sephiroth slashed at Loz with his weapon but it met only empty air, as the remnant disappeared.

Sephiroth sighed hoping he wouldn't receive any further interruptions and stepped onto the other teleporter.

* * *

Rinoa passed through the darkness of Desert Palace. Being a sorceress had its advantages as she held in her left hand, a ball of fire to light her way. She had now entered what appeared to be a library. Passing the book shelves she entered an area with many stained glass windows. Obviously that area was a lot lighter than the library had been. Rinoa extinguished the flame and continued.

The next room had a stairway of light in the centre, most likely still active from before the original inhabitant's demise. As she reached the top of the stairs a familiar figure materialised. He wore black, had dark brown hair and blue eyes.

"Squall…" gasped Rinoa.

* * *

As soon as the Red Rose II had docked in Lindblum, Zidane had sneaked off. He guessed where Sephiroth would head next, Desert Palace. Zidane had thought on what he had seen and wanted to ask Sephiroth himself about it. He had seen what Sephiroth was capable of but he hoped that he had changed his ways like Kuja did in the end. Currently he had just got off the Air Cab to the Theatre District. He wanted to get to the Desert Palace quickly without Garnet and the others knowing. The only person who would take him there with no questions asked was Baku and the Tantalus. That was where he was heading, the Tantalus hideout.

"Hey, long time no see," Zidane spun around to find the source of the voice. He was relieved to see Blank climbing down a ladder on the outside of the hideout.

"Blank," Zidane said, "Good to see you. Is Baku in? I kinda need to ask a favour."

"What kinda favour," said a deep voice. Coming out of the hideout was the leader of Tantalus himself.

"Hey boss. Well I need to get to Desert Palace without Garnet knowing and I was hoping I could kinda borrow the Prima Vista II?" Zidane replied.

"You can't seriously be thinking about going there alone?" Blank said looking at Zidane as if he were mad, "Why do you wanna go there?"

Baku looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Okay. We'll take you to Desert Palace, if you're crazy enough to go there. I know you must have your reasons. And since you don't want the Queen to know, if she asks we didn't see you," Baku said glaring a Blank who looked as if her was about to protest.

"Thanks Boss," Zidane said smiling.

"Well ya did save all of Gaia and you're a Tantalus so I can't really refuse ya," Baku laughed.

* * *

Sephiroth had now reached a room with several torches and statues in it. Again he was unsure which direction to go. He cast a fire spell on one of the torches revealing a door in the centre of the room. As he headed towards it, he heard a male voice.

"Why are you here?"

Sephiroth turned around to see another silver haired youth wearing black. It was obviously a remnant but it wasn't Kadaj or Loz. This one looked at lot more like himself.

"Another remnant I presume," Sephiroth inquired.

The remnant allowed a half smile, "Yes, I am Yazoo."

Sephiroth could tell Yazoo was not afraid of him like Loz had been.

"You haven't answered my question. Why are you here Sephiroth?" Yazoo said with Sephiroth's trademark emotionless tone.

"Why do you ask? I am certain that you already know," Sephiroth retorted.

"Of course, but I want to hear it from you," Yazoo replied.

Sephiroth found he liked this remnant. Though he was distracting him, Yazoo seemed a lot more like himself, though perhaps lacking some of his more fiery traits.

"The existence of the planet, its people and myself are at stake," said Sephiroth hiding his amusement.

"Not too long ago you would have included only yourself in that list. Mother would not be too happy if she heard that you actually cared about the fools who are destroying the planet," Yazoo said still showing no emotion.

"I suppose you believe yourself and your brothers are more loyal to her?" asked Sephiroth.

"To begin with, you were Mother's favourite; the one who summoned Meteor and killed the last Cetra. Your loyalty has obviously wavered since then, unlike ours'"

"Sephiroth laughed, "You three are me," he said finality in his voice.

Yazoo surprised Sephiroth by giving him a look of annoyance before he too disappeared.

* * *

Rinoa walked towards her Knight. However she was met however with only a furious look.

"What do you think you're doing?" questioned Squall angrily.

"What…" asked Rinoa confused.

"Why did you kill all those people and why do you insist on killing more?" he replied eyeing the blue crystal on her belt and the genome asleep inside it.

"I'm trying to help the world again. No one should have to suffer like I have. This way no one will," Rinoa cried despairingly.

"Destroying entire dimensions will help no one, including yourself," Squall said exasperatedly, "What will it achieve?"

"No one would exist so no one would have to fear death or feel pain," Rinoa said as if it were logical.

"Listen to yourself. What happened to you Rinoa? Nothing you do is going to bring me back and you know that," Squall said shaking his head.

At that, Rinoa couldn't take it any longer and tears began to fall down her cheeks. What made it worse was Squall just stood and watched her, a look of pity on his face.

* * *

A stairway of light floated in the centre of the next room Sephiroth entered. He began scaling it as Kadaj appeared in front of him.

"Well I guess that's the full set," Sephiroth observed sarcastically.

"You're a disgrace to Mother," Kadaj said simply.

"And why is that?" Sephiroth sighed annoyed with the constant interruptions.

"You're becoming attached to that genome. He's just like Cloud and the other fools who tried to stop us. Mother would not be pleased," Kadaj said tauntingly.

Sephiroth paused and realised Kadaj was right. Despite Zidane's annoying character he had grown to like the monkey. However not wanting to let Kadaj know that he said, "I need his help to save Jenova, nothing more."

Kadaj smirked, obviously unconvinced and disappeared. As Sephiroth mounted the stairs he was sure he could hear a woman's voice.

* * *

Zidane stared out across the Outer Continent. They had nearly reached the back entrance to Desert Palace. He was scared to go in but wanted some answers. The closer they got, the more he wondered who he would see in there.

* * *

"Why are you saying this?"

Sephiroth reached the top of the stairs and was met with the woman was Esto Gaza, Rinoa.

"Squall?" she asked desperately, "Where did you go?"

Rinoa turned around and saw Sephiroth. She gave him a look of pure venom before releasing a pair of black angel like wings and lifting a few feet off the ground.

_To be continued…_

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

**_This story was originally going to be four parts but I had too much to fit into the last chapter so it'll be five. I couldn't resist it; I had to put Squall and Yazoo in. Having put Yazoo and Kadaj I had to put Loz in as well so there's the full set. What will happen in the next chapter?_**

_**I like people who review by the way**_

**_Disclaimer: Squaresoft/Squarenix owns the characters, location etc. I just own the plot. _**


	5. The Third Angel

**Part Five: The Third Angel**

Zidane noticed the teleporter outside of Desert Palace was glowing. Someone had definitely been there recently. He stepped onto it, immediately warping inside. As he headed towards the next one, a familiar figure appeared before him.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," said Kuja.

"What are you doing here?" Zidane asked confused.

"Souls of the dead are summoned by the bloodstones, remember," Kuja replied.

"Oh right, so I get stuck with you," Zidane said smiling.

"Very funny. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well I'm following a friend of mine. I'm pretty sure they came here," replied Zidane.

Kuja looked thoughtful for a moment, "Dark haired woman in about her early twenties or a silver haired man, dressed in black?"

"Second one," Zidane answered, "Wait a minute, a woman came through here?"

"That's typical of you. Most men would be happy with the Queen of Alexandria."

"It's not that. That woman's really dangerous. She's trying to destroy this dimension," Zidane said annoyed.

"Oh, that was The Nameless One then," Kuja said realisation dawning on his face.

"How do you know that?" asked Zidane.

"I'm dead, that means I can talk to other dead spirits. So in essence, I know everything," Kuja said flicking his silver hair.

Zidane smiled before rushing off into the Palace. Surprisingly, Kuja followed him.

"Why are you coming?"

"You want to get to your friend quickly, correct?" Kuja asked. Zidane nodded, "Well if I stay with you, no monsters will attack."

"Alright then."

The pair continued running through the Palace, though Kuja seemed to be floating. When they reached a room with a staircase of light, Zidane could hear magic being cast above him.

"I think that would be your opponent," Kuja said looking up at the ceiling before disappearing.

Zidane took a deep breath before racing up the stairs.

* * *

Sephiroth rolled to avoid another of Rinoa's Holy spells.

"Persistent bitch!" he muttered under his breath.

He had barely had any chance to use the Masamune as Rinoa kept constantly throwing spells at him. Sephiroth dodged another spell and shot a fire spell at his opponent. However she cast Reflect, just in time, sending it hurtling back at its caster, hitting him square in the chest as he readied another spell. Sephiroth laughed bitterly, internally "So the Great Sephiroth is going to be defeated by a girl. How pathetic."

She didn't seem to be tiring but he was, and the several spells that he had been unable to dodge were taking their toll. Sephiroth narrowly avoided another Holy spell; it sailed harmlessly past his right shoulder. He was surprised however that it whipped past his shoulder again, heading towards Rinoa and hitting her. Sephiroth spun around and saw Zidane stood there, holding his double bladed sword. Rinoa growled and cast a Demi spell at Zidane before disappearing. He easily dodged it.

"Why did you go off like that?" Zidane asked.

Sephiroth didn't reply.

"Did you know that we'd see images from your past in the castle?" Zidane inquired looking suspiciously at the older warrior.

"What?" said Sephiroth looking shocked. Suddenly he sensed someone behind him.

"Garnet no!" cried Zidane.

Not hearing the genome's cry in time, Sephiroth quickly spun round, plunging the Masamune into them. He then realised he had stabbed the Queen of Alexandria. She was holding a dagger in one hand and it was obvious what she had tried to do. However she was actually unharmed. Sephiroth felt a searing pain below his left shoulder. Pulling back the Masamune he looked down at his chest. His own blood was spilling out. The injuries he had received battling Rinoa and the new injury served to weaken him. The last thing he saw before everything went black was Garnet staring at him with a look of horror on her face.

* * *

As Zidane reached the top of the stairs he saw Sephiroth dodging the spells cast by a woman. It was the first time he had seen the Nameless One and it saddened him how someone so pretty could become so heartless. She was how she had been described to him as except on her back were a pair of black wings. Though he hadn't seen her before, she seemed familiar. Zidane could tell Sephiroth was tiring; her Holy spells were very effective against Sephiroth, Zidane now understood why. Sephiroth narrowly dodged a Holy spell which flew towards Zidane. He was glad he had brought the Ultima Weapon this time. He twirled it round, deflecting the spell back at the woman. As it hit her, Sephiroth turned round and looked at Zidane.

"Why did you go off like that?" Zidane asked.

Sephiroth didn't reply and averted Zidane's gaze.

"Did you know that we'd see images from your past in the castle?" Zidane inquired looking suspiciously at the older warrior.

"What?" said Sephiroth looking shocked. Zidane then saw something move behind Sephiroth. From hiding, emerged Garnet holding a dagger. She was advancing towards Sephiroth and looked as if she was holding back tears.

"Garnet no!" cried Zidane. Sephiroth didn't hear him yell in time and he span around stabbing Garnet with his sword. However she wasn't harmed. Sephiroth faltered before pulling his sword out of the Queen. He looked down before collapsing. Garnet stared down at Sephiroth, tears rolling down her cheeks as Zidane ran up to the silver haired warrior. Zidane then realised that as he was worried about Sephiroth, he did trust him and considered him a friend. He was however confused that Sephiroth was hurt and Garnet not.

"What the hell were you doing?" Zidane shouted at Garnet.

"I…how…" Garnet gasped.

"Sephiroth!" Zidane shouted trying to rouse the silver haired warrior. Sephiroth didn't move.

"I think we should take him to the Black Mage Village. They'll be able to heal him," Zidane said trying to lift the older man.

"No...You saw what he did…he's too dangerous." Garnet replied.

"Is that why you tried to kill him?" Zidane said quietly trying to hide his anger. He loved Garnet but he was horrified that she had not only tried to kill Sephiroth but that she had also tried to sneak up on him.

"Yes…" Garnet replied ashamedly, "I don't trust him. I thought he might hurt you. If we take him to the Black Mage village he might do to it what he did to the town we saw."

"Whilst we've known him, has he given us any reason not to trust him?" asked Zidane.

"Well…no…"

"And is he likely to burn down the village anytime soon," Zidane sighed exasperatedly.

Garnet paused, "I guess not…" Surprisingly, she then knelt down and began using healing spells on Sephiroth.

After a while, she said "The others were following me, they'll be able to help you carry him."

Zidane chuckled, "He'd hate it if he heard you say that."

"Why do you trust him?" Garnet said looking up at Zidane.

Zidane paused, "He reminds me of Kuja in his final moments. I think this JENOVA made him insane."

Garnet remained silent until the others arrived. They were shocked to hear what had happened, but agreed to take Sephiroth to the Black Mage Village.

* * *

Rinoa screamed furiously into the darkness, causing a thunder clap nearby. The silver haired warrior had made Squall abandon her and the genome had tried to stop her as well. She would make them pay.

"I've been too subtle," the sorceress said to herself, "I've been running, trying to avoid them. I'll meet them head on and then show them they are no match for my power."

She cackled into the night and took flight once again. This time she was seeking the One Winged Angel and the Angel of Death. She could watch their faces as she destroyed a dimension before their very eyes. Just before she killed them.

* * *

Green everywhere. Green light and the constant sound of water. And voices, voices from the void, crying out in anguish as if to punish him for his deeds by disturbing his eternal rest.

"…_Am I dead?"_

"…_Not yet…"_

* * *

A storm raged outside as the group listened to the two Black Mages. Four had set out to Conde Petit, but only two had returned. The Nameless One was out there and she wasn't happy. She had killed two as a warning. She had left two alive to relay it.

"I say we go and kick the old hag's ass!" Eiko squeaked.

"We defeated Necron and Kuja so we should be able to beat her," Freya added.

"I don't want to go without Sephiroth," Zidane said.

Garnet nodded, "I think we are going to need him. He wouldn't have been sent here otherwise."

"I guess you're right…" replied Freya.

A silence descended upon the group. Zidane looked outside and watched the rain falling for a while. He thought he saw something pink flash past the entrance to the building. Zidane stood up and walked towards the door. He then saw what the pink was. A woman dressed in a hooded pink cloak was walking towards him.

"You are Zidane, aren't you?" the girl asked in a gentle voice which seemed familiar.

"Yeah…" replied Zidane warily.

The girl nodded and pulled down her hood. She had brown hair with a pink ribbon in it and bright blue eyes.

"My name is Aerith."

* * *

The silver haired warrior was immobilised in midair and surrounded by a ring of swords. A shadow in the shape of a man appeared before being replaced by a figure made entirely of light that had golden wings. They grabbed each sword in turn, striking the warrior with them. The figure dealt the final strike and landed grabbing one of the blades. The others fell, forming a ring around the user of the deadly technique. The scene flickered for a moment before disappearing.

* * *

"How are you alive?" Garnet said confused.

Aerith paused, "Well…I'm not exactly what you would call alive."

"What does that mean?" Eiko squeaked.

"I am dead, but I can travel the cycle of souls that connects all the dimensions. In my dimension it's called the Lifestream. You can see me now because…I'm kind of an…apparition. It's hard to explain," Aerith replied.

"Are you here because Sephiroth is?" inquired Freya.

"I sent him here, on behalf of the Planet," explained Aerith, "He has been given the chance of redemption. Though he claimed he did not want it, I didn't believe him."

"How could you forgive him for killing you? I wouldn't be able to forgive someone who killed me," Eiko said.

"His actions weren't entirely his own. JENOVA was controlling him when he killed me and during most of the other atrocities he committed. I guess Zidane would understand the best; he forgave Kuja despite all he did."

Zidane looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded, "Whilst we've known Sephiroth he's given us no reason not to trust him. From the visions me Garnet and I saw, I thought JENOVA was probably to blame."

"What I don't understand is why Sephiroth wants to save JENOVA when it controlled him," Freya said bemused.

"Like he told you, if JENOVA is erased, then he is- as well anybody born after that. Another reason may be that, whether he likes it or not, JENOVA is part of who he is," Aerith replied.

A silence descended for a short while before being broken by Zidane, "Why did Sephiroth receive the injury when Garnet tried to stab him?"

Aerith sighed, "As you saw from his actions there was a danger in sending him here. The planet decided to create a safety measure. If Sephiroth hurt any innocents then he would receive the pain instead of them."

"But I wasn't innocent," Garnet said.

"Do you really believe you would have tried to kill him?"

Garnet opened her mouth to speak but closed it again and went silent.

"It takes more than that to kill Sephiroth," Aerith laughed, "He's a very hard man to kill."

Eiko frowned, deep in thought then said, "But it sounds like he's been killed three times. There must actually be a way to kill him, which seems to be a strange sword technique. And he appears to be able to keep coming back to life."

Aerith allowed a half smile, "Yes he can be killed but after the first time it became more difficult. The sword technique you speak of is probably the only way of killing Sephiroth. As to how he can come back, the first and second times were because of the JENOVA cells inside him and the third was the Planet reviving him."

The group jumped as a violent thunderclap sounded outside.

"Rinoa's not happy…" Aerith muttered.

"Who's Rinoa," Zidane said snapping out of his reverie.

"She's the Nameless One. We recently discovered who she is."

"Is she human?" Steiner said, speaking for the first time.

"Yes. She comes from another dimension called Hyne. Rinoa's a sorceress, hence why she can use powerful magic," Aerith looked at Zidane, "Am I right in thinking you've been having dreams with her in?"

Zidane looked shocked, then realised why the Nameless One looked familiar. It was the dark haired girl from his dreams.

"Yeah, I have," Zidane said slowly.

"There is a reason for that. You know that Rinoa is after the one linked to JENOVA to erase her. Well other links exist such as yourself Zidane and the girl in yellow in your dream. She's also from Hyne, her name's Selphie," Aerith explained.

"How can I see her memories?" asked Zidane, confused.

"Because she's dead. Rinoa killed her," Aerith replied, "Rinoa is the way she is, because of the event you saw in your dream. Her lover, Squall was killed and it was pretty much her fault so she feels guilty. Squall was also her Knight. In Hyne Sorceresses need Knights to keep them sane. When Squall died she wouldn't take another so slipped into madness."

"Does she feel that she can't exist without him, so she doesn't want others to exist?" Garnet suggested.

"Not exactly… She wants to destroy everything so they won't feel pain. Sephiroth already knows this, I told him on the way to Desert Palace. He is linked to Squall which is another reason why you need him to defeat Rinoa."

A silence occurred again before being broken by Jeje, "Umm…Miss Aerith…"

Aerith looked kindly at Jeje indicating she was listening.

"Umm…I know that Rinoa is trying to awaken the link to JENOVA but…how does she do it…if we know we might be able to stop it…"

"It involves tapping into the cycle of souls. She's a sorceress so she has the power to do it. The two linked souls unite for a brief period. Rinoa intends to destroy the souls as they unite. If she does it in this dimension, it will erase JENOVA. If she were to do it my dimension, it would erase the one linked to her here."

Jeje nodded in understanding.

"Souls don't have to be actively united for links to be seen. Often two linked souls have similar personalities, it isn't always the case but it usually is. For example Zidane is linked to someone in my dimension called Zack." At this Aerith went a little red.

"We saw Zack in the visions we saw. I'm linked to him?" Zidane said.

Aerith nodded, "It probably explains why Sephiroth put ups with you annoying him, the two of you are very similar. Another link I know about is Eiko with a girl called Rikku. She's from another dimension called Spira. You named the Black Mage Jeje, right?"

"Yeah," Eiko said nodding.

"Well Jeje is Al Bhed, the language Rikku speaks, for Vivi. That's another example of what shows links," Aerith added.

Lightning pierced the sky violently, outside.

"I have to go. I can't stay in this dimension for too long. You should be able to wake Sephiroth now," Aerith said as she stood up.

"I'll go," Eiko squeaked and began heading to the door, however Garnet stopped her.

"No, I'll go…I want to apologise…"

Eiko nodded and let her go. As the rest of the group dispersed, Aerith walked over to Zidane who watched her confused. She had a grave look on her face.

"After you defeat Rinoa there is another task you must perform," Aerith said.

"What kind of task?" Zidane asked, suspicious.

Aerith averted his gaze, unable to meet his eyes, "Sephiroth cannot exist in his dimension because of JENOVA; It makes him too dangerous. He can't live in this dimension either, he's not from here. If he were to stay here it would upset the balance between the different worlds. After you defeat Rinoa you must..." Aerith paused struggling to finish her sentence. However Zidane had guessed what she was asking him to do.

"You want me to kill him."

Aerith nodded slowly, "If it were up to me, I'd let him stay here. But it isn't up to me, it's the Planet's decision and they want him to return to the Lifestream."

"How am I supposed to anyway?" Zidane said trying to avoid having to perform the awful task.

"Omnislash, the technique you saw Cloud do in the void," Aerith replied.

"Wait a minute, you showed us the images didn't you?"

"Well, Rinoa showed you them so that you wouldn't trust Sephiroth, thus removing the threat. However I thought you ought to see them so I allowed her to," Aerith explained.

"Is that why the monsters were stampeding around there, because Rinoa summoned them?"

"Yes, she made the monsters rampage to make you think she was in there," Aerith replied

"It's always Cloud who kills Sephiroth, what makes you think I can? Cloud's probably the only one who can use Omnislash." Zidane suggested.

"Omnislash is a technique based on the strength of the user's soul. The most powerful souls are earned, rather than are with us at birth. You earned you soul, so it is a powerful soul; probably the most powerful in this dimension. It certainly equals Cloud's strength. When it is necessary, your soul will show the way and you will be able to defeat Sephiroth."

"I won't do it," Zidane said slowly.

Aerith sighed, "If you don't, horrible things can happen to this dimension. Worse threats than Rinoa. Someone from one dimension can't exist in another for too long, the timescales and realities in dimensions are different…I know you don't want to… but you must."

Aerith looked Zidane in the eye before turning round and heading towards the door. Before she reached the door however, she faded away.

Zidane stared at the place where she had disappeared. He couldn't kill Sephiroth; he was his friend despite his grumpy demeanour. But if he didn't kill Sephiroth, Gaiaterra would be in danger. Either choice meant dealing a death blow to a friend, or his world.

* * *

Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked around the room he was in. He could tell it was the Black Mage Village. Outside the sky was dark and it was raining. Lightning streaked through the sky at regular intervals followed by claps of thunder.

Sephiroth got up off the bed as another lightning bolt illuminated the room. His thoughts drifted to what had happened in Desert Palace. Garnet had tried to sneak up on him; he had stabbed her but had received the injury instead. Sephiroth realised why, the safety precaution the Planet had placed on him.

"Stupid precaution, it was self-defence!" he thought bitterly as he exited the building. No one was foolish enough to be outside in the storm, so it was deserted. He strolled towards the entrance to the village and entered the woods. He knew when the group realised he was awake they would want to question him. He didn't want to deal with them at the moment.

In the wood, the trees provided shelter from the rain; the only danger was if lightning struck the trees. Sephiroth didn't worry about that.

* * *

Zidane was still sat contemplating what Aerith had asked him to do. He didn't blame her; Zidane could tell she didn't want to have to ask him to do it. He saw something move nearby, looking up he saw Eiko had come into the room.

"Er…Zidane?" Eiko said nervously.

"Yeah?"

"Garnet went to wake Sephiroth up and…he's kinda…disappeared," Eiko said.

"What!" Zidane said jumping up, "Last time I saw him he was unconscious, how could he have disappeared?"

"Well Aerith did say he was hard to kill… He probably could get up and walk. The others are searching the village but I don't think they've found him yet."

Zidane sighed getting up. Sephiroth wasn't in the village and hopefully he would have more sense than to go looking for Rinoa on his own. Zidane started towards the woods hoping Sephiroth would be there.

* * *

A single raindrop fell through a gap in the trees and landed on Sephiroth's face. Above him he could hear the heavy rain drumming against the leaves. He was restless so he began swinging his Masamune in deft strikes. Anyone watching would have thought he was performing a dance rather than wielding a deadly weapon. Sephiroth's rhythm was broken when another blade blocked his.

"Obviously there's nothing wrong with you," Zidane commented.

Sephiroth pulled the Masamune back before bringing it around towards Zidane again. He blocked the blade and followed by a strike of his own. Sephiroth anticipated it and moved the Masamune to block it. Zidane lunged forward but Sephiroth was too quick and jumped out of the way slamming his blade into his opponent's. The genome withdrew before performing a serious of strikes all of which his opponent blocked before following with some of his own. The two lunged at each other their blades crashing together, knocking Zidane back. He charged towards Sephiroth and brought his blade up in a swift upwards strike but the Masamune was raised to meet Zidane's weapon and the two collided with a violent clang. Both the men pushed the blade forward with all their strength to weaken their opponent. Sephiroth then surprised Zidane by quickly jerking his blade upwards, disarming the genome and knocking him over.

Zidane laughed as Sephiroth helped him up, "I guess I asked for that. Note to self, never challenge you."

However Sephiroth noticed after Zidane had said that he faltered for a moment before his smile returned.

"You know, whilst you were asleep Aerith came to see us,"

"What? Why?" asked Sephiroth.

"To explain what's going on a bit better and to explain your actions," Zidane replied.

Sephiroth remembered then what Zidane had said in Desert Palace.

"You said in Desert Palace that you saw images from my past in Ipsen's Castle. I assume you saw the atrocities I committed in my own dimension," Sephiroth asked gravely.

"Yeah, we did. We were surprised when Aerith turned up because we saw that you killed her. Turns out she's still dead," Zidane said trying to make the subject more cheery but failing.

"If you saw what I did…what kind of person I am, why did you help me after I stabbed Garnet?" Sephiroth inquired, confused.

Zidane went silent for a moment, thinking. After a while he replied, "A few reasons, you were hurt and it's a natural instinct to want to help someone in trouble…It's in my nature to want to help people…And in some ways you remind me of Kuja. Just before he died, he saved us despite everything he had done to us, Terra and Gaia. When I was in the Desert Palace, he was the soul that appeared to me. Kuja held no hatred for me at all. He was perfectly friendly. More like he was before he died. He changed, I think you have too."

Sephiroth leaned back against a tree, thinking. Eventually he replied, "Perhaps."

Zidane leaned against a tree opposite, "When we were shown your memories, we saw a man named Zack. Aerith said I'm linked to him."

Sephiroth laughed, "That doesn't surprise me. You are very similar."

"That's interesting," Zidane said.

"What?" Sephiroth asked puzzled.

"Well, the only time I've heard you laugh was when we saw memories of you and then it was a kinda cruel laugh. That time you actually laughed like a normal person."

Sephiroth was shocked by Zidane's statement. He had never been called normal in his entire life and not so long ago he would have given anything to live a normal life. There was no chance of that with JENOVA constantly talking to him. Sephiroth then realised why he hadn't done anything wrong whilst in Gaiaterra. JENOVA didn't exist there so he hadn't heard her voice. Despite his quest there being to stop JEVONA being erased, he hadn't realised before that he couldn't hear her.

He gasped, then realising Zidane had noticed, quickly said, "We'd better head back. The others will probably wondering where you are."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, Garnet's looking for you. She wants to apologise,"

"For what?" Sephiroth asked.

"Trying to stab you…" Zidane said looking a Sephiroth, confused.

Sephiroth sighed, "She didn't, so it doesn't matter," he replied before heading towards the village.

Zidane was left staring after Sephiroth, a serious look on his face.

* * *

"What did you do to Sephiroth?" Garnet asked Zidane.

They were waiting to head out and face Rinoa. Everyone was there except Eiko who Jeje had gone to wake up.

"What do you mean?"

"Well when I apologised, I actually got a civil answer," Garnet replied.

"What did he say?"  
"He said it wasn't necessary."

Eiko and Jeje then arrived.

"Are we going to kick the old hag's ass?" Eiko said cheerily.

"You do know she's only in her twenties?" Freya laughed.

"She older than me so, she's an old hag," replied the young summoner.

Zidane laughed with the others but was wondering why Sephiroth had acted strangely last night. He hoped JENOVA had appeared in Gaiaterra like Sephiroth had. At that thought, Zidane remembered the unhappy task he had to perform after they defeated Rinoa.

* * *

The group had just scaled the cliff outside the village and could see roughly where Rinoa was. However they couldn't see Rinoa herself due to the large numbers of monsters surrounding her. Rain was pelting down and seemed to get heavier as they got nearer.

As the group got closer to the herd, Sephiroth could see Rinoa floating above the monsters.

"You should never make a lady wait," Rinoa said an evil glint in her eye.

"You're not a lady you old hag!" Eiko exclaimed.

Rinoa laughed and withdrew something from her belt. She tossed it into the air and caught it a few times before continuing.

"I'd make sure the little girl is quiet. Her screeching may distract me and make me drop this," Rinoa said dropping the crystal and catching it at the last possible moment, "I would hate to kill the genome inside."

Zidane took a step back.

"Garnet, Eiko, you try and get the crystal off her, the rest of us will distract her and deal with the monsters," Zidane whispered to make sure Rinoa couldn't hear.

Zidane nodded and the group ran off to perform their tasks. Zidane and Sephiroth raced towards the sorceress and were surprised when the monsters moved out of the way. However they barred the path of the rest of the group.

Rinoa tutted, "I was waiting here for you two not anyone else. I can't let them interfere. Anyone would think you were too cowardly to face me on your own."

Sephiroth ignored Rinoa and unleashed a fire spell which Rinoa reflected. She then responded by casting spells at the pair.

"You can't use magic can you?" Sephiroth asked Zidane.

"Unfortunately, no," Zidane replied as he dodged one of Rinoa's Demi spells, "I think I can jump up to her though. You keep her busy, I'll get Mikoto."

Sephiroth ran up towards Rinoa, rapidly firing Ice spells until he was only a few feet away. She melted the shards of ice with a fire spell before casting one at the silver haired warrior. Rinoa then quickly spun round and cast a wind spell at Zidane, who was trying to sneak up on her, throwing him near Sephiroth.

"It's not very sporting to attack someone when their back is turned," Rinoa cackled before throwing the crystal into the air.

A sphere of blue light surrounded Rinoa. Sephiroth cast a fire spell on it but the spell was reflected back at him. The crystal Rinoa had thrown into the air hovered for a minute before it fell into Rinoa's outstretched hand, the sphere surrounding her faded.

"That's odd…" Rinoa muttered looking at the crystal.

She held it out and the sphere returned. This time however, Sephiroth noticed a light out of the corner of his eye. He allowed a quick glance at the others and saw Garnet was enveloped in a sphere of light, similar to the one surrounding Rinoa.

"Hmm…So the genome isn't the one linked to JENOVA," Rinoa said, a trace of amusement in her voice.

Garnet looked terrified and desperately banged against the sphere trying to free herself.

"What the…Garnet's linked to JENOVA?" Zidane gasped as he ran towards her, "That doesn't make sense."

"You told me Garnet's summon powers were used to kill most of the Cleyrans, right?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well JENOVA also almost destroyed and entire race, the Cetra. There is a link between the two," Sephiroth explained.

Suddenly the pair hit a barrier. Zidane slammed against it with his blade but it didn't move.

"I can't have you helping her, now can I?" Rinoa laughed. She was throwing the crystal containing Mikoto up and down again.

"I don't need this anymore it seems," with that she threw the crystal towards the remaining monsters.

"Mikoto!" cried Zidane.

* * *

There was a flash of light and Carbuncle appeared catching the crystal.

"Yeah, good job Carbuncle!" Eiko squeaked.

Carbuncle ran towards its master and handed Eiko the crystal. Rinoa growled before continuing to cast offensive magic at Sephiroth and Zidane. Garnet still continued to bang against the sphere. Freya, Kuan and Leo were now attacking it and hitting it with magic in an attempt the break it. Eiko and Jeje were trying to get Mikoto out.

"Try casting Esuna on it!" Garnet cried to Eiko from inside the crystal.

The crystal flashed as Eiko hit it with Esuna. From it Mikoto appeared at her full size. She shook her head to clear the dizziness and looked around at the group and the scene in front of her.

"Where am I, what's going on?" Mikoto said in her usual expressionless tone.

"We'll explain later Mikoto, go back the village," Freya replied.

Mikoto nodded before running off towards the woods, she knew it was best not to argue. The girls looked across at Sephiroth and Zidane who were fighting Rinoa still. They were spending most of their time dodging her attacks rather than going on the offensive.

"Hey, why don't we try casting Esuna on the sphere," Eiko suggested.

"Okay," replied Garnet.

Eiko concentrated and unleashed an Esuna spell at the orb. It flickered but didn't disappear.

"Maybe if we both cast Esuna on it at the same time?" Garnet said.

The two charged Esuna spells and hit the sphere at the same point from inside and outside the sphere. As the spells hit, the sphere faded.

"How can I be linked to JENOVA?" Garnet asked confused.

"I think I heard Sephiroth saying to Zidane that your summons powers were used to destroy nearly all the Cleyrans and JENOVA nearly destroyed all the Cetra," Freya replied.

Seeing that Garnet was no longer trapped, Rinoa cast several lightning spells at the girls and the Black Mages. Carbuncle quickly cast reflect on them causing the thunder spells to fly out towards the monsters, killing all that remained. With the way clear, they ran towards Zidane and Sephiroth, only to be stopped by Rinoa's hastily created barrier. Jeje, Kuan and Leo cast spell after spell at it but it wouldn't break.

"Looks like all we can do now is wait…" Eiko said quietly.

"Yeah. Those two are the ones meant to stop her. I know they will," Garnet replied.

* * *

Zidane lunged at Rinoa only to meet empty air as she flew out of the way. Neither he nor Sephiroth had managed land any attacks, her spells were too strong and she was too quick.

"Distract her," Sephiroth shouted to Zidane.

"Okay, why? Do you have an idea?"

Sephiroth didn't reply. From his right shoulder blade, emerged a single black wing. He extended his hand towards the sky. The black clouds created by Rinoa began swirling and spiralling down towards the ground. Rinoa halted her casting as she tried to avoid them. It obscured her vision but the clouds were also a disadvantage to Zidane. He couldn't see through them either. Suddenly Rinoa found an opening to cast a spell sending a powerful Demi spell hurtling at Zidane. The force threw him a few feet and he heard Garnet scream. It had made him dizzy so he shook his head to clear it. He felt a strange but familiar sensation spreading through his body; the unmistakable feeling that a trance was coming. Zidane smiled as he pulled himself to his feet.

* * *

Sephiroth flew towards Rinoa his Masamune ready to strike; however she flew out of the way just in time. His dark powers had given him an edge and Rinoa was tiring. Rinoa's vision obscured, he looked towards Zidane as a Demi spell hit the genome throwing him a few feet. Sephiroth took the opportunity to swipe at Rinoa. With no time to dodge, she hastily erected a protect spell which blocked the Masamune with a loud clang. Sephiroth felt something warm on his face, looking up he saw that some shafts of sunlight were poking through the darkness he and Rinoa had created. Where the sunlight rested on the ground, Zidane was stood surrounded in a pink light. Sephiroth was amazed as a set of golden wings appeared from the genome's back.

"What the…" Zidane thought looking at the golden wings that had appeared from his back.

After getting over the initial shock he flew up towards Sephiroth.

"Why the hell do I have wings?" Zidane asked wondering if Sephiroth knew.

"Well you were meant to be 'angel of death' weren't you?"

"Well yeah, but Kuja never had wings…" Zidane said confused, "Guess I shouldn't complain. It'll help us beat Rinoa anyway."

Just after Zidane said that, a fireball flew towards him which he narrowly missed. The two men looked at each and nodded before flying towards Rinoa; Sephiroth to her right and Zidane to her left.

"I see the monkey has a new toy," Rinoa said sarcastically.

However as she was taunting Zidane she didn't notice Sephiroth cast a stop spell on her from behind, immobilising her.

Sephiroth laughed, "A powerful sorceress is immobilised by a simple Stop spell, how pathetic."

Seeing their chance, the pair flew towards Rinoa. Sephiroth stabbed the Masamune through her back in a position scarily similar to what he had when he killed Aerith. At the same time, Zidane stabbed the Ultima weapon into Rinoa's chest, mere millimetres away from the Masamune.

* * *

The two pulled their weapon out and flew towards the ground. Rinoa remained hovering, looking shocked. She coughed, blood seeping out the sides of her mouth. Her black wings slowly turned to white as she looked at Sephiroth and Zidane with empty eyes. The now white wings enshrouded her body and she disappeared in a whirl of feathers.

Sephiroth cleaned the Masamune and sighed. He didn't like what he had to do next. Deciding to give Zidane a moment to choose, he waited.

* * *

Zidane looked at Sephiroth who had his back to him. He didn't want to make the choice. Zidane knew he had to but he couldn't. Sephiroth turned round and headed towards the rest of the group. However when he turned around, it was as if he was forcing himself to do it. Sephiroth slashed his sword towards Eiko, narrowly missing her as she jumped out the way.

"Sephiroth?" Eiko said, confused.

He slashed at her again but Zidane jumped in the way and blocked the Masamune with the Ultima weapon.

"What the hell are you doing, Sephiroth," Zidane exclaimed.

The silver haired warrior didn't reply and continued slamming his blade into Zidane's. However, Zidane noticed his attacks were slower and not as powerful as they usually were. Sephiroth charged towards Zidane the longer blade slamming into Zidane's double edged one. Zidane struggled to keep hold of his weapon but retained his grip on it. Swinging it round he tried to disarm Sephiroth but the silver haired warrior struck the Ultima weapon, disarming the genome. Sephiroth picked up the Ultima weapon and threw it at its master for him to catch.

"Why are you doing this?" Zidane cried.

Again, Sephiroth did not reply. He merely lunged at Zidane who sidestepped to avoid the attack. Sephiroth quickly recovered and jumped back before charging at the genome again. Zidane jumped and tried to strike his opponent back with his weapon but Sephiroth quickly spun and round and blocked the doubled edged sword. He flew up out of Zidane's usual reach but Zidane now too had wings so flew up after him. Their blades collided in mid air throwing both battlers back. Zidane being the smaller of the two and not as strong as Sephiroth felt the effect of the collision more. He struggled to right himself in the air, leaving an opening for Sephiroth to attack. Sephiroth charged a fire spell and sent it hurtling at Zidane but it was blocked by a reflect spell cast by Garnet. The spell bounced off the reflect and hit Sephiroth throwing him back a few feet. Tears threatening to escape from his eyes, Zidane ran towards the silver haired warrior. As he did, the Ultima weapon began glowing. It split into several blades and encircled Sephiroth. Zidane's body seemed to move on its own as he grabbed each blade and plunged it into his opponent. He was horrified as he grabbed blade after blade slashing at his friend. When he regained control of his movements, he landed on the ground, catching his original blade. He looked up at Sephiroth and was surprised by his expression. It was of acceptance rather than anger, shame, hatred or anything Zidane would have expected. Sephiroth's black wing enshrouded him and he too faded away in a whirl of feathers. The others ran towards Zidane as he stepped back, his wings disappearing, dropping his weapon on the ground in disbelief.

* * *

_One week later…_

"Zidane?"

Zidane was looking out of the window in Alexandria Castle. As he looked across at the town he remembered when Sephiroth had easily cut his path through the monsters and made his way to the castle. Zidane had the feeling Sephiroth had attacked Eiko to make him decide; to make Zidane kill him. Sephiroth had fought at less than his usual skill; the only explanation was to give Zidane a chance of defeating him.

"Zidane?" Garnet said as she entered the room.

"Oh, hey Garnet," Zidane replied.

"You still thinking about him?"

"Yeah…I think he wanted me to kill him…" Zidane said.

"Why would he want that?" Garnet asked confused.

"You know I told you Aerith asked me to kill him. That I had to, that horrible things would happen to the planet otherwise…I think Sephiroth knew…"

"Maybe," Garnet replied, "Come on, Eiko's going back to Lindblum today remember. She wants to say goodbye."

"It's not like she's going very far. She'll probably be back in about a week," Zidane moaned before following her.

Garnet laughed, "I know, but you know what Eiko's like. You can tell her your theory, I'm sure she'll agree with you as well."

* * *

_6 Days, 23 hours earlier_

"You knew I asked him to kill you didn't you?" Aerith said, Sephiroth didn't reply, "Well the planet says you've atoned so you won't be asked to go on anymore trips like that."

Sephiroth retained his usual silence.

"I thought you might get on with Zidane. He is a lot like Zack. I'm surprised you put up with Zack though."

Still Sephiroth remained silent.

Aerith smiled, "I knew you weren't evil."

"Aerith?" Sephiroth said

"Yes?" Aerith replied, surprised that Sephiroth had spoken.

"Shut up."

_The angel had passed on but angels can never truly die._

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Finally finished it (dances). Well I had to have a little surprise didn't I? The Nameless One wasn't after Mikoto after all. Hope you enjoyed it. There's an Epilogue too! I advise you not to read it if you hate Rinoa.**_

_**In this part I know it may seem that I too am a Rinoa Hater. I was when I started the fic but I'm not now so I was not deliberately trying to make her psychotic/evil out of spite in this part.**_

_**In regard to Zidane's wings, well the other two angels had at least one and he didn't so I gave him some pretty gold ones. Hehe **_

_**Some credit goes to my brother for the ending. It was his idea and he's my spell checker. If you see any spelling/grammatical errors let me know, I may have to fire him**_

_**I like people who review by the way**_

_** Thanks to my two reviewers SakuraRibbons and Firehedgehog. You made my finish it!**_

**_Disclaimer: Squaresoft/Squarenix owns the characters, location etc. I just own the plot. _**


	6. Epilogue

**_A/N: This is just an little after event from Angelic Intervention. If you don't like Rinoa, don't read it_**

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The dark haired girl kept her eyes closed but she could hear the sound of monsters. Suddenly she heard a sword being unsheathed. Her eyes snapped open and she saw that it was Squall unsheathing the Lionheart. Confused, the girl sat up. She was in the forest near Balamb with Squall.

"Must have been a dream," she muttered. It had seemed so real. Squall had died because of her and she had gone mad. She had travelled to another dimension with the goal of destroying another.

"Are you alright?" Squall said looking at her, "…Rinoa?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied after a moment.

He watched her for a minute before setting to cleaning his Gunblade. Rinoa's thoughts returned to her dream. She had been defeated in the end by a blonde boy with a tail and a silver haired warrior with glowing green eyes. He had reminded her of Squall but she couldn't think why. After turning mad, Rinoa had battled her friends and killed Selphie. Since obtaining them she had been wary of her sorceress powers, but she had been reminded of how dangerous they could be.

She turned to look at Squall and noticed something white pulsing. It was the monster lure she had summoned; the cause of everything. She went over to the pulsing orb and began to wave her hand over it to decrease its power.

Squall noticed, "Don't play with the monster lure."

"That was exactly what he had said in the dream," she thought.

"I'm just making it weaker," replied Rinoa.

"Why? Usually you'd be making it bigger to attract stronger monsters. Then say that 'I can handle it because I'm you're Knight," Squall said giving her an odd look.

She paused, "Well, we don't know what sort of monsters are in this forest and there might be some really strong ones."

Squall didn't look convinced. He shook his head and stood up. Suddenly he tensed, and looked around warily.

"Do you hear something?" Rinoa asked.

"T-Rexaur," Squall said picking up the Lionheart. Rinoa's heart seemed to stop for a moment. It was same monster that had killed Squall in her dream. She now had the feeling that it hadn't been a dream.

The T-Rexaur suddenly burst through the trees and ran towards the pair. Squall charged at it, striking it legs and face. Rinoa closed her eyes, remembering what had happened in her dream.

"Not again," she muttered determination in her voice.

Her body began to glow as two white wings appeared from her shoulder blades causing her to float a few feet off the ground. Charging up a Holy spell she released it at the unfortunate monster, defeating it instantly. It fell to the ground with a thud.

Squall looked at her surprised, "Why didn't you do that before?"

She smiled and shrugged.

"Hey!" cried a voice as Selphie burst through the trees, "We heard a T-Rexaur and a Gunblade…"She stopped and looked down at the carcass of the T-Rexaur, "Oh, you defeated it."

From behind Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and Zell arrived.

"Wow, you two killed that on your own?" Zell said impressed.

"Actually Rinoa killed it," Squall replied.

The others stared at her, making her go red.

"Well, I am a sorceress," said Rinoa sheepishly.

"Yeah and I have worse powers than that which I never want to discover," she thought.

"We'd better go, there's too many T-Rexaurs here," Quistis laughed, "We can't all KO them instantly like Rinoa can."

The group collected the supplies and Rinoa walked over to the monster lure. She watched it pulse a couple of times before dispelling it. For a moment Rinoa was sure she could see a brown haired girl dressed in pink, smiling at her. She blinked and they were gone. Rinoa dismissed it and went to join the others.

"Enjoy your happy ending, Rinoa," said the girl in pink, amongst the trees.

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_**Author's Notes:**_

_**I think I'm going soft in my old age (almost 18!). As Rinoa was a protagonist I thought she should have a better ending than just dying. So she gets a second chance. As I said in part five I didn't like her when I started writing this, along with the fact I wanted a familiar face to be the antagonist was the reason I chose her as the villain. However writing this and my other Fanfic 'Lost Allies' has made me see her in a different light so now I don't mind her as much. **_

_**Disclaimer: Square-Enix owns the characters, places etc. I just own the plot. And remember, I like people who review**_

_**Oh and yes the woman in pink was Aerith.**_


	7. Sequel Teaser

**Angelic Intervention Sequel: Teaser**

**Having enjoyed writing 'Angelic Intervention' and feeling a little sorry for Sephiroth at the end I am writing a sequel. **

_After Rinoa's defeat and Sephiroth's return to the Lifestream, the three angels thought the danger had passed. However dark forces are stirring in every dimension and a critical error on Aerith's part calls the angels together to battle once again but this time they will be fighting together. Rinoa is having strange dreams of herself, gone insane and when Zidane and Sephiroth show up she wonders if she can trust them. How long can the Angel of Death and the One Winged Angel keep their secret?_

**Well there is more...but if I do write one it'll spoil**

**More characters, bigger roles for characters from 'Angelic Intervention' (cough SHM cough) and more FFX crossovers...And even some Dirge of Cerberus for fun (not to the extent I'll spoil though. However if anyone asks for Shelke I will send Sephiroth other with the Masamune)**

**Any suggestions or requests for certain characters to be in it are welcome. Including suggestions on killing off characters (grins evilly). If I get enough requests for romances I will try, but only if it's canon **

**P.S. Over 1000 hits! (happy dances)**


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